


The Lorelai

by kaaztiel



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Slow Build, Smut, pre-me1
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-01-09 21:34:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 39,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12284799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaaztiel/pseuds/kaaztiel
Summary: Jane Shepard and Garrus Vakarian set off for a year of council missions as part of their spectre training. Some mysterious force keeps pulling them together (it's me, the author), and they find themselves caught up in a whirlwind of feelings they've never experienced before (love of course). They'll need to fight their way through their insecurities and doubts as well as the battlefield. Will they survive such a high-stakes game? (yes! they're gonna fuuuck!)Precedes Mass Effect 1I don't have a set updating schedule anymore since I got WAY behind writing this monster of a fic so I'll just let y'all know where I'm at in the next chapter by updating on here!Next Chapter - 75% complete as of January 3, 2019I am literally so sorry I am procrastinating on this so bad!!! but im procrastinating by writing a contact wars au fic so maybe soon i will have more content for you!!! - 1/3/2019





	1. Docking Bay K-448

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone!  
> This started out as a way for me to practice writing action scenes, so expect a lot of fighting and explosions! And romance! As always, let me know if you enjoy it!
> 
> (I also have another scene from this story posted separately if you just can't wait for that sweet alien sex) 
> 
> ;)

~ ~ ~ 

Docking Bay K-448 

            Jane Shepard slumped against the metal wall, rubbing her temples. She had already left her hotel later than she wanted and now she was lost, again. Something about the Citadel always got her all mixed up, so finding her way, even with directions, was nearly impossible. She needed to go to sector K but couldn’t find signs for it anywhere, just countless glowing ads on every inch of unused space. The blinking lights and layered audio of multiple commercials playing at once set her brain on fire, a migraine settling in behind her eyes. A tall turian stopped up ahead of her and she spotted the ubiquitous C-SEC logo across his armored shoulder. She hiked her bags up on her back and tried to shake off the throbbing in her head, the action of which had the opposite effect that she had intended.

            “Excuse me.” She lightly tapped his arm, still squinting slightly in pain. “Could you help me find Sector K?”

            He turned around hesitantly, still typing on his omni-tool. “Sorry, I’m actually off duty right now, didn’t have time to change.” He looked up at her, shutting off the tech on his wrist. “But I just so happen to be heading there, too. You can walk with me, if you like.”

            “Oh. Thank you.” Jane said, surprised by his helpfulness. She hadn’t noticed his bags on the floor and felt a little silly for assuming he was working, though her brain had been momentarily incapacitated.  “I’m Jane.”

            “Garrus.” He smiled at her as they walked.

            “So, where are you headed?” Jane asked, feeling a bit awkward in the silence.

            “I don’t think I’m supposed to tell anyone.”

            “Top secret?”

            “Mhm.” He hummed, a lovely sound with his turian harmonics.

            “Oh.” She wasn’t sure how to keep the conversation moving. He didn’t seem like he really wanted to talk, but she _really_ wanted to hear more of that voice. It was so melodic and soothing that it healed her headache like painkillers never could.

            After a moment of walking through the waning traffic of the docking hub, Garrus cleared his throat.

            “What about you?” He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

            “Special Training.” Shepard shrugged. No one had really told her explicitly, but she didn’t think she was supposed to say she was going to be going on high-level council missions for almost a year. Just completing the training made her eligible _for consideration_ for promotion to spectre. The council hadn’t shown any indication that they would appoint a human any time soon, but that could change by the time she was done. Her admittance into the program was mostly to placate the Earth ambassadors asking for more influence in Citadel matters. Still, she was one of very few humans selected, and Earth was slowly building an impressive domain across the galaxy, so her chances for being made spectre were growing.

            “Are you Alliance?”

            “I’m actually a turian spy.” She winked, hoping he would understand her sarcasm.

            “Wow, your disguise is fantastic.” He chuckled, an even prettier sound than his hum.

            “Thank you.” She whipped her red hair back dramatically. “You should see my hanar costume, it’s very convincing.”

            “Oh, is that normal?” He asked, head tilted to the side, eyes on the top of her skull.

            “Is what normal?”

            “No, the color of your fringe-thing.” He couldn’t remember the word for the weird strands on their head.

            “You mean my hair?”

            He nodded.

            “Yes, it’s normal! You’ve never seen a human with red hair before?”

            “No. I have seen a few with blue hair, though. And one green.” Humans were so strange with their hair. They seemed to change the shape and color of it frequently. Some of the human officers in C-SEC would come to work one day with completely different hair and Garrus would barely recognize them. They seemed to think it was no big deal.

            “And you think red is weird compared to blue and green?”

            “Well, does it grow like that?”

            Jane laughed. “Not blue and green.”

            “That’s kind of disappointing.”

            “Well, mine is natural.” She smiled and ran her fingers through the strands.

Garrus caught a whiff of her shampoo, mixed with her own natural scent. She smelled incredible. He wanted to bury his face in her neck and just breathe her in. His strong sense of smell was a double-edged sword. It was incredibly useful for survival and tracking, but things that smelled _really_ good had an almost hypnotic effect on him. It was an inclination shared by many turians, especially those with a better than average sense of smell, which he did have. And more so for turian males near their reproductive peak, which he was. He would never give in to such an instinct, but he still hated having to fight such annoying, evolved compulsions.

            “It’s nice.” He said. He really meant it, too. The red was unusual and eye-catching in a beautiful way. It was like fire, shimmering and flowing as she moved.

            Shepard grinned. “Thanks. I like your fringe, too.”

            Garrus chuckled, looking away sheepishly. She probably didn’t know that she just said the turian equivalent of “you’re sexy,” but he felt his neck grow warmer as his blood vessels dilated.  

            They arrived at a large tube elevator with a sign reading “K” in many different languages. Garrus stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for level four.

            “The floor you need is the first number of the three-digit docking address.” He looked at her expectantly.

            She pulled up her ticket on her omni-tool. “Uh, four.”

            “Alright, same as me.” He leaned back against the elevator wall, resting his hands along the rail. The posture made the muscles in his arms and shoulders flex in a pleasing way.

            Her eyes moved to trace his clan markings. They were a rich navy color, geometric, flowing across the mandibles on the sides of his face. His icy blue eyes stuck out in stark contrast with his markings and his dark gray skin. The soft turquoise glow of his headset over one eye, reflected in the metal walls of the elevator, created a beautiful portrait.

            They slowed to a stop and hopped down the elevator steps onto the significantly emptier hallway of sector K, level four.

            “It’s a lot easier to find your way up here. Just follow the signs to your numbered dock.”

            They started down the long corridor, silence growing more comfortable as they went. They passed the gate for the 400’s docks, the 410’s, the 420’s, the 430’s, until they reached the gate for docking bays 441-450. They both turned down the same hallway, smiling at each other’s parallels.

            They passed each individual gate, some staffed, some closed off, until they both found themselves reaching the end, still walking together.

            “I think we might be going to the same place.” Garrus stated.

            “Spectre training?”

            “Yep.”

            “Nice to meet you.” She beamed up at him, thoroughly amused by the coincidence.

            “Nice to meet you, too.” Garrus grinned back at her, the most genuine smile he’d given in weeks. The short time they’d spent together had felt so easy and natural, Garrus had almost forgotten what that sort of companionship had felt like. It wasn’t that he didn’t have any friends or wasn’t good at making them, it was simply the isolation and exhaustion that came with his job that made it impossible to keep lasting relationships. If he’d met someone he was fonder of, he might have tried to make it work anyway, but he never had the time or energy required to go out and meet new people in the first place. He hadn’t thought about making friends during Spectre training as he figured most of them were focused solely on getting their job done. Shepard didn’t seem to be like that at all, though. Maybe this trip would be different.

            They arrived at the gate to find seven others gathered around a tactically-dressed salarian holding a tablet in his hands.

            “Ah! Jane Shepard and Garrus Vakarian. Glad you could make it!” The upbeat salarian scribbled something down.

            The rest of the group turned to look at them. Jane could see two turians, one asari, one other salarian, and two humans, both of whom she recognized.  

            “As some of you know, I am Captain Kirrahe.” He turned to the rest of them. “Welcome to the Lorelai." He gestured toward the window, where a sliver of a massive machine could be seen, sparkling under the lights of the citadel. “Now that you’re all here, we can head inside and start our briefing in a few minutes.” He turned sharply and walked through the doors leading up to the airlock.

            Shepard peeked through the shuttle bay window, marveling at the sleek design of the ship. It was a midsized model with what looked like the latest tech. It seemed to quiver with power, like a racehorse in the gate, tossing its head in anticipation.

            The rest of the trainees gathered up their bags to head inside. The male human approached Shepard, smiling wide. He had dark hair, cut short. His body was tall and muscular, posture stiff like that of a soldier.

            “Shepard! It’s so good to see you!” He threw his arms around her, laughing. “What are the odds, right?”

            “It’s good to see you, too, Alenko. Congrats on getting selected, you must have gotten better since the last time.” She smiled warmly back at him before a voice called from over Kaidan’s shoulder.

“Jane?”

“Josie?” Shepard replied, face brightening at her greeting.

            A tall blonde woman with cropped hair sauntered over with a lopsided smirk, her biceps bulging under her shirt sleeves. “I should have known you’d be here, too.” The blonde wrapped Jane in a hug, which she reciprocated enthusiastically.

            Kaidan moved over to the side, a sullen look over having his reunion with Shepard cut short. Garrus couldn’t help but sympathize with him. He already missed Jane’s banter and had hoped that he could talk to her more on the ship. Now, though, it seemed like she had two more people vying for her attention, and they already had a rapport with her. He sighed, reluctantly carrying his bags through the giant airlock.

            “How have you been?” Shepard asked, trying not to let her eyes wander. Josie had a powerful charisma that, coupled with her dangerously good-looks, always made Jane go weak at the knees.

            “Pretty great, actually. I just got married.” Josie blushed.

            “Really? That’s amazing!” Jane felt a slight pang of disappointment, but she didn’t let it show. _Whoever they are, they’re lucky as hell._ She thought to herself.

            “Yeah, it’s been awesome. Lauren is the best person I’ve ever met.” She laughed awkwardly. “Sorry, I would have invited you to the wedding, but you were kind of impossible to reach.”

            “Don’t worry about it, I wouldn’t have had anything to wear anyway.” Shepard waved her off with a smile. She had been on duty for the last few years, going on covert missions all over the galaxy. She hadn’t even been able to read her extranet messages most of the time, so it’s no wonder Josie couldn’t reach her.

            “You’ll have to meet her sometime. She’s way funnier than me.”

            “I’d love to.” Jane smiled brightly, thoroughly enjoying seeing an old friend so full of joy and love.

            The two women walked through the airlock together, reminiscing about old times. Kaidan joined them but remained silent, not wanting to interrupt their happy memories. He wished Jane had been as excited to see him as he was to see her and felt his heart sink at the thought. He was at least glad to have a reason to see her now.

            Garrus followed the three of them on board, feeling lonelier than he had in a long time.

 

~ ~ ~ 

On Board 

            Garrus dropped his stuff down on the bed assigned by the Captain. They had just finished the long, and extremely thorough debriefing and now had a full day of travel and rest ahead of them. He changed out of his C-SEC uniform into some comfortable casuals and then kicked his feet up onto the bed, pulling up the extranet on his omni-tool. He felt much more relaxed after the meeting as work always offered a familiar comfort.

            He didn’t notice when Jane walked in, only looking up after she sat down heavily on the bed next to him.

            “You, again?” She shook her head, sighing. “How am I supposed to have any fun with C-SEC in the bunk next to mine?”

            He smiled at her, already wanting to fall back into their fun, sarcastic rhythm. “Jane.” He said sternly. “It is my primary duty as an officer, to be an absolute killjoy. Anything even remotely fun will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.” He kept his voice level, just like he would with a citadel citizen, with hands folded behind his head as he lounged.

             “Ooh, I just got shivers.” Her laugh echoed in the small room, single-note, but full of joy.

            “Hey, laughter counts as fun.” He pointed at her accusingly, unable to keep himself from smiling.

            Shepard sat up straight and raised her hand in a salute, a grin spreading across her face as she tried not to laugh. Garrus immediately wished he hadn’t said anything to make her stop laughing. It was beautiful in a strange way, and he wanted to hear it again.

            The door slid open and a salarian entered, claiming the bed on the far side of Jane.

            “Hello. My name is Phasan, pleasure to meet you.” She spoke warmly, large black eyes crinkling in a smile.

            As soon as the salarian finished speaking, another turian strode into the room, tossing his things down onto the last bed before rushing back out again.

            “Mercer.” Phasan sighed. “You should really introduce yourself.” She put her hands on her hips, staring him down.

            “Why? You just did.” Mercer turned and started walking out again.

            “You know what I mean.”

            He rolled his eyes and reluctantly walked back into the room. “Hi. As you all know, thanks to Phasan, my name is Mercer.” He turned back to the salarian. “Now, can I go eat?”

            She nodded once sharply, satisfied with his reluctant greeting. She turned back to them. “Sorry, he’s usually nicer.” Phasan waved goodbye, following Mercer to the dining hall.

            Jane and Garrus found themselves alone again, neither hungry enough to go to dinner, nor wanting to end the conversation.

            “Does everyone know each other here?” Jane asked.

            “Some people take do spectre training more than once to help their chances of getting chosen. Plus, it pays really well. Definitely better than C-SEC.” He sighed, already dreading his return to a life of paperwork and restrictions. “They probably all know each other from that.”

            “Do you know anyone?”

            “No. This is my first time. I think I might be the only one here who doesn’t know anyone.” He hated how lonely he sounded.

            “You know me.” She grinned.

            “Barely.”

            “Aw.” She frowned. “I bet by the end of training, we’ll be best friends.” She was surprised at how quickly she was warming up to him. She mentally thanked Kirrahe for assigning her the bed next to his.

            Garrus felt his chest thrum at her statement. He hoped she was sincere.

            “There you are!” Kaidan strutted into the room, lighting up once he saw Shepard. “Hey, I was thinking we could maybe spar or something, tonight? They have a kickass training room here, you’ve gotta see it.” He glanced between them. “Sorry, uh, I’m not interrupting, am I?”

            _Yes._ Garrus glared at him, wishing he could telepathically tell this human to fuck off.

            “No, it’s alright. We were just getting acquainted.” Jane shrugged. “Garrus this is Kaidan Alenko. Kaidan, Garrus.”

            They waved at each other stiffly.

            “Sure, I can spar.” Shepard said, stretching her arms. “I was worried that I’d be out of practice after such a long shore leave.” She stretched her arms. She really did need to get some training in, though she worried Kaidan might think it was more than just sparring. He was a good friend, and a great soldier, but she could feel his unrequited pining weighing down on her every time they were together like a two-ton krogan. She almost wished he would make a move, so she could finally rip the band-aid off and tell him she just wanted to be friends. But, she also didn’t want to do anything to ruin their friendship. As career Alliance officers, they’d likely be working together for a long time, and she’d much rather that be on good terms.

            “Great!” He grinned, bouncing up and down on his toes in anticipation. “I promise I won’t go easy on you.” He winked, cracking his purple, glowing knuckles. “Did you want to go now?”

            “Uh,” She looked at her zipped up bag lying on the bed. “I’m still getting settled in.”

            “Oh, okay. Want to meet there in an hour?” He asked.

            “Yeah, that sounds good.” She waved as he rushed off to his room.

            As soon as the door shut behind him, Garrus turned back to her. “Careful, Shepard. I think he’s going to try to kill you.” He could smell Kaidan’s arousal as soon as he walked into the room, keeping his nose scrunched the entire time he was there. Even without his heightened turian senses, he could see though the soldier’s transparent friendly façade a mile away. Garrus wondered if Jane could sense it, too. _She’s smart, there’s no way she wouldn’t._ He wondered if she actually favored Kaidan, as well. Garrus couldn’t tell. She was harder to read, and he liked that about her.

            She rolled her eyes. “Bring it on. He hasn’t been able to beat me once.”

            “Really?”

            She shook her head, letting loose a tiny purple flame from her fingertips. “Top of the class in hand-to-hand combat.” She smirked, remembering how new challengers would tremble in fear, knowing they were going to get thrown all over the mat for the entire round.

            “You’re a biotic?” Garrus’ eyes widened. He hadn’t even considered that she’d possess such an ability. She seemed so open and kind that he assumed she would be a tech or a sniper like himself. But like the old turian proverb his mother used to say, “assumptions make narrow minds.”

            “Surprised?” She raised an eyebrow.

            “A bit.” He cleared his throat. “You know, I was actually top of my class in hand-to-hand combat, as well.”

            She laughed. “You want to try me?” The fire in her eyes was clear now as she looked at him from her bed. Shepard was a dangerous being.

            “Not if you’re going to shockwave me and blow my brains apart.” He threw his hands up in defense, more intrigued by her than ever.

            “Usually it makes their lungs explode, too.”

            “Terrifying.” He shuddered, more than a little excited to see her in action.

            Jane grinned. “What if I promise not to use biotics? Then, will you spar with me?” She leaned forward on the bed, awaiting his response.

            “You really want to?”

            “Yeah! Come down with me and Kaidan to the training room in…” She checked her omni-tool. “fifty-seven minutes.”

            _Kaidan is going to hate this._ Garrus thought gleefully. “Sounds good, Shepard.”

 

~ ~ ~ 

Fight Night 

 

            All changed into their more comfortable exercise-wear, Shepard and Vakarian walked into the training room exactly on time to find Kaidan already waiting.

            “Hey-“ He stopped short seeing the turian. “Garrus?”

            “Yeah, sorry.” He replied in his dual-tones. “Hope you don’t mind. I wanted to see what it was like to spar a human.”

            “Yeah, of course.” Kaidan recovered quickly, giving Garrus a genuine smile.

            “Should I take on the winner?” Garrus proposed.

            Jane cracked her neck. “You mean me?” She gave Kaidan a wicked smile, letting both of her hands flow with biotic energy.

            “I’ve gotten much better, Shepard.” Alenko winked, completely forgetting Garrus’ intrusion. “You’d be surprised.”

            “Do you think I’ve been sitting around doing nothing in my down time?” She replied, relishing a good smack-talk. “You may have gotten better, but I’m still the best.”

            The training room was indeed impressive. All the equipment was sleek and efficient, gleaming different shades of black and gold. The sparring arena was massive with a vaulted ceiling. There was padding on every other wall, the rest was a strong alloy fencing to allow people to see inside. There was a warm buzz near the walls, suggesting the presence of a powerful biotic dampener.

            Shepard and Alenko shrugged into their sparring gear and took their place on the mat. Garrus leaned up against one wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

            “Want a few warm-up rounds?”

            “Definitely.” Jane stretched, loving the burn in her legs and the warmth of her eezo nodules activating.

            At half-speed, they practiced a few easy pins, letting the familiar movements pump blood through their veins. It was very similar to the style Garrus had practiced in the military, concentrating on using the opponent’s momentum against them, rather than brute strength. Kaidan was significantly larger than Jane, as most human males were larger than females, but using this tactic gave her an advantage. She had a lower center of gravity than Alenko, since most of his mass was centered around his shoulders and hers around her waist and hips. Using a practiced, low stance, she was difficult to knock down. The two opponents slowly increased in strength and speed, feeling the rush of adrenaline ignite their competitive nature.

            “I think I’m warm.” She said after a few moments, breathing faster and grinning wide. Their biotics flared in response to their exertion, hands luminescing bright and hot. It sent tingles through her body, centering in her palms, which now felt completely disconnected from her arms.

            “Alright, then. Let’s go.” Alenko smiled back, his entire body engulfed in purple flame.

            They locked eyes, feet widening into a ready stance. Jane lunged, hands grasping at Kaidan’s arms. He adjusted quickly, dodging to the side to let her momentum pull her forward. He swung down hard with his other hand, biotically slamming her into the padded ground.

She grunted, dazed from the fall.

            Kaidan grinned. “Too much?”

            Shepard smirked. Almost too quickly for Garrus to see, she hooked her legs behind his ankles and kicked hard, yanking both of his feet into the air. He landed hard on his back with a heavy-sounding “oof.” Jane pinned his chest with one knee and one hand, the other raised in the air, primed with biotic energy and aimed directly at his head.

            “You wish, Alenko.”

            He responded by throwing out a powerful biotic shield, tossing Shepard across the room and into one of the unpadded fences. She bounced off the wall and landed on her feet, head snapping up to block Kaidan’s next assault. He was standing again, letting loose a powerful blast of energy in her direction. She threw up a barrier with one arm across her face, feet sliding backwards across the mat from the force.

            Garrus only felt a fraction of the blast through the high-tech fence and was still knocked back enough to need to readjust his footing. He was impressed. The kid was powerful.

            Jane sprinted at Alenko, easily dodging his next shockwave. She leapt up, biotics, boosting her high into the air. Purple lightning zapped between her fists as she hovered over the momentarily wide-eyed Alenko.

Garrus’ froze, hoping he wasn’t about to witness Kaidan’s death so soon after meeting him.

Alenko dodged at the last minute, rolling out from underneath her kill strike deftly. She punched the mat instead, sending ripples of energy through the ground like water.

Garrus felt the vibrations rattle through his bones, strongly regretting his earlier agreement to spar with Jane.

Alenko charged at her, right fist blazing a beautiful trail of purple light. Shepard jumped up, deflecting his blow with her left wrist, barely feeling the sting of his biotics. She gave him a charged right hook, connecting with the padding around his cheek and throwing his head sharply to the side. He kicked her powerfully in her ribs as he spun away, making her grunt.

Garrus winced. She _was_ wearing protective gear, but Alenko was going full force.

She came back at him hard, sending punches and kicks flying from all directions as they collided. Kaidan was ready, blocking all but one to the abdomen. She landed another more powerful, biotic kick to his chest, launching him across the mat. Garrus thought he was going to slam into the wall, but suddenly Kaidan’s biotics blazed bright, enveloping his arms and legs and slowing his flight until he hovered a few inches off the ground, well away from the wall.

“Impressive.” Jane said between deep breaths.

Alenko rocketed back towards her, a flurry of purple flashes. They connected in a powerful display of light, tossing one another across the room. Kaidan twisted in the air, winding up for a devastating kick. As soon as he swung his foot towards her, she grabbed his leg, continuing his motion and spinning him sharply. He hit the ground, too dizzy to jump out of the way before she pinned his back with her foot, hands shooting out to trap his shoulders under a dazzling, electrified forcefield.

            “Okay, that hurts.” Kaidan grunted under the weight of her biotics. He could feel the sting working its way through the padding of his safety gear.

            She released him, smiling and breathing hard. “Does that mean I win?”

            “Yeah, yeah.” He laughed, rolling his eyes. “I’ll get you one of these days, Shepard.”

            “In your dreams, Alenko.” She turned to Garrus. “You ready?”

            Garrus had been completely absorbed in the fight, forgetting their earlier agreement. After watching them battle, he had absolutely no desire to take on Jane’s terrifying electric fists. He could hold his own against just about every turian and every human that wasn’t an overpowered biotic, but with these two, he’d definitely want a gun.

            “After that? No way.” Garrus put his hands up.

            She laughed loudly. “I promised I wouldn’t use biotics!”

            “You think I didn’t see that look in your eye from all the way over here?” He raised a brow plate. “You’re going to kill me, I know it.”

            Kaidan nodded emphatically, looking serious. “It’s way more terrifying up close, Garrus.”

            “Oh, you guys are babies.” She put her hands on her hips.

            Garrus chuckled and moved towards the caged arena door. His curiosity had only grown since watching them and he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to spar with Jane, even if he did think she was absolutely terrifying. He wasn’t generally a trusting person, but he was certain she wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. It was a strange feeling, especially since they’d just met earlier that morning. It already felt like ages ago to him.

            Kaidan stepped out of the arena, holding the door open for Garrus.

“Good luck!” He whispered, throwing a thumbs-up as he latched the door behind him.

Garrus and Jane stood across from each other, the air buzzing with an energy neither of them could name. Their eyes locked and everything else faded away.

Jane marveled at their differences, examining the sharp edges of his torso. He didn’t need padding thanks to his plating and Jane winced at the thought of punching the hard surface. Without her biotics, he was a highly formidable opponent. She could easily see the power in his lithe body.

“We’ll just do some basic stuff. I don’t really know how turians fight.” She moved forward, placing one hand on his bare shoulder.

“It’s a lot like you and Alenko just now.” He said, arm tingling in response to her touch. Her fingers were tiny and delicate, but their collective grip was strong and firm.

            “Great.” She smiled, trying not to rub her fingers along his arms. His plates were warm and slightly rough, with more give than she had assumed. Altogether, very pleasant. “You put your arms here.” She directed his hands to her shoulders, the magnetic attraction between them growing as they got close.

The feel of her body made Garrus raise his brow plates in surprise. From how powerful her punches were before, he’d have never guessed she would be so adorably soft and squishy. He wanted to scoop her up in a hug to see if the rest of her felt the same way.

“And try to flip me.” She said with a smile. “Best two out of three.”

            They locked together, testing each other’s strength. Suddenly, she ducked under his arm and shoved at his abdomen, knocking him onto his back. She jumped on top of his narrow waist, pinning his arms above his head.

            He laid there for a moment, dazed. The muscles underneath her skin were flexed and she glistened all over with a sheen of sweat. Garrus could smell the salty-sweet scent and wanted to flick out his tongue to taste it on her skin. Her hair was falling out of her bun, framing her face in red-gold lines.

            “Point human.” She smirked.

            Garrus snapped out of his reverie, eyes narrowing in concentration. He broke his hands from her grip and grabbed her shoulders, flipping them both so that he was over her, instead. He sat over her waist, holding her down with great effort until she stopped struggling. She was strong and flexible, more so than Garrus would have thought possible.

            “Point turian?” He asked, head tilted to the side.

            “Oh, whatever.” She rolled her eyes and blew a strand of hair out of her face. She was a bit flustered by his strength. Not many could keep her pinned like that.

            “Good one, Vakarian!” Kaidan called out from the sidelines, thoroughly enjoying seeing Shepard get her ass kicked for once.

            The buzz in the air had only grown stronger since they’d begun grappling, and Garrus had all but forgotten about Alenko on the sidelines. He glared at the human, angry that he would interrupt such an intimate moment with Jane.

            Shepard saw her opening as soon as Garrus looked up. She yanked her arms from his hold and pushed him off her torso with a twist and a knee to his side. He scrambled to get up again, but Jane was too quick, pulling him into a headlock with one cheek rubbing uncomfortably on the plating of his cowl. She wrapped her legs tightly around his and hung on for dear life as he tried to break free from her hold.

            He paused, grunting in discomfort. “I don’t really bend this way.”

            “Point human?” She whispered in his ear.

            “Yes, your point.” He chuckled softly.

            She released him, and they fell back, sprawled all over the mat. They let their breathing slow, and the tension drain from their muscles. She was completely exhausted from fighting Kaidan and wanted to bask in the pleasant atmosphere that had materialized between her and Garrus.

            “We’ll have to do this again sometime.” She grinned sideways at him, not lifting her head.

            “Yeah. Let’s do it.” Garrus smiled. It was the most fun he’d had in ages. After nearly three years of non-stop work, he’d almost forgotten what it was like. Now, this woman he’d just met was already making him feel more like himself than he had in a long time, even since before he was promoted. Jane Shepard really was something special.


	2. A Hostage Situation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first mission aboard the Lorelai takes them to a remote colony perched upon a rocky asteroid. They've answered a distress signal but have little idea of what awaits them inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! This is more of an experimental action chapter. Let me know what parts you liked & what parts kinda lost your attention (if any!). I know what's fun for me to write, but it's sometimes harder to know what's fun for you guys to read. <3 Enjoy! See you next week!

~ ~ ~ 

A Hostage Situation 

They all huddled around the table in the briefing room, glancing questioningly at one another. Their first mission was scheduled for the next day, but Kirrahe had called an emergency meeting, requesting that they all suit up. 

“Apologies everyone,” The captain announced as he walked through the door, his usual cheery demeanor replaced with a tone of urgency. “We’ve just been given a new assignment.” He threw up the information onto the holoscreen, so they could all see. “A batarian mining colony sent out a distress signal less than one hour ago. The transmission was cut off, but a local trading group moved in to investigate. Their presence upset whoever was attacking the colony, escalating things into a hostage situation. The trading group was likely just looking for potential salvage, so they didn’t stay to help. Probably for the best. We’re approaching now.” 

Kirrahe switched the projection to a map of the colony. It was a tiny settlement perched on a mid-sized asteroid. They had an atmospheric dome stretching out over the entire town, the edges tinted pink, radiating a soft glow. 

“We’re at a significant disadvantage, here.” Kirrahe continued. “But I know you’re all more than capable of getting them all out alive. If not,” He sighed. “Relations with the batarians will suffer. They will definitely blame the council for inaction.” He said the last part more to himself, mulling over the complex inter-species conflicts with one long finger tapping against his chin. He snapped back to the group when his omni-tool pinged. “Alright, we’re here. I’ll send you info as it becomes available. Good luck, soldiers.” 

They filed onto the shuttle, bumping into one another in their bulky armor. They kept silent, waiting for more news to ping through their wrists. The tension in the cab was palpable. None of them liked going into a situation blind. Garrus balled his hands into fists. Jane’s face was unreadable. 

As soon as they came into view of the asteroid, the squad rushed to the windows, trying to ascertain the situation from above. The atmospheric bubble was the only structure on the giant lump of rock, especially hard to miss since it radiated a beautiful pink glow. It encompassed a small assortment of buildings, as well as a giant mining rig, which had already excavated a large chunk of earth towards the north edge of the bubble. Jane thought she could see some moving specks within the center of buildings, but the shuttle had already begun its descent between folds of broken rock, blocking them from view. They had no idea what the situation looked like ahead, or if the batarian colony was even still alive. 

The crew unloaded onto the monochromatic gray, rough terrain, prepping their weapons. They had a twenty-minute hike from the drop zone, and from there they had to find a way inside without alerting the attackers. They looked at one another, eyes filled with uncertainty behind the thick glass of their helmets. Kolle took the lead, running ahead occasionally to scout through the extended scope on his rifle. The rest followed at a slow jog, keeping their weapons holstered so they could run freely. The rocky path under their feet was brittle and unstable after being exposed to the rigors of space for so long. All of them slipped in the gray dirt as they climbed up the last steep hill, breathing heavily. The beautiful rosy glow of the dome came into view past the summit, drawing a gasp from several of them. 

“It’s gorgeous.” Phasan whispered into the comms. 

Nova hummed in agreement. 

As they approached the base, their hearts dropped as they saw the massive wall circling the base of the dome. There was a large door to an airlock, but they couldn’t open it without everyone inside being alerted to their position. Cargo-sized airlocks were incredibly loud, and from what could be seen from the shuttle, there weren’t enough buildings to offer sufficient visual cover. 

“Anyone have any ideas?” Kolle piped up, leaning his rifle against his shoulder. 

“Can’t go through the airlock, obviously.” Mercer responded, voice deep and gruff. 

Nova ran her hands along the wall. “These walls house the field generators for the dome.” She turned back to the group, fixing them with her intense asari stare. “They’ll need maintenance tunnels.” 

“Those will all be accessed from the inside, they won’t help us here.” Phasan muttered, hand on her chin. 

“They could help our position once we’re inside, give us a way to sneak around them.” Josie supplied, propping one muscular leg up on a rock. 

Nova nodded. “The airlock would need an access for maintenance, as well.” She moved around to the side of the door, inspecting the edge. 

“Those would be accessible from both sides, correct?” Kolle speculated as he began looking for the maintenance access alongside Nova. 

“Do you think they’d be connected?” Jane wondered. 

Nova looked over at her. “It would make sense, wouldn’t it? It’s a maintenance _access_ , so it should be _accessible._ ” 

Jane shrugged and moved to the other side of the door to search. They all joined in, covering a small area, hands working as quickly as they could. 

“I found it!” Kaidan shouted excitedly, pulling back a section of the wall. It was an almost completely unnoticeable hatch, inset to be nearly seamless. It opened up and a small panel popped out, prompting them for a security passphrase. 

“Nice one, Alenko!” Kolle cheered into his mic. 

“Alright!” Phasan shouted. 

They crowded around Kaidan as he pulled out the panel. 

“Uh, I don’t think I should be the one doing this part, actually.” He shrugged sheepishly, handing it over to whoever felt they could handle the tech. 

Garrus stepped forward confidently, excited to prove his competency to the team. He typed in the commands quickly, trying to impress them a bit. The machine beeped at him in an angry red. He frowned, growling slightly in frustration, hoping that Mercer and Kolle couldn’t hear his turian harmonics through the comms. He tried again, increasing the complexity of his unlocking algorithm. Red, again. He growled a second time, typing more forcefully and increasing complexity again. _This is a remote mining colony; how good can their security be?_ Garrus fumed. Nova snorted lightly, stepping forward to take over for him. The panel clicked and whirred, changing to a calming color blue, which stopped the asari short. Garrus sighed in relief. 

A larger door swung open just next to the airlock, revealing a small compartment, only large enough to fit about four of them with their armor and guns. 

“Looks like we’ll need to split up.” Garrus said, returning the security console to its place. “Four and four. Should only take two pressurization cycles.” 

“One team can go west, through the wall.” Mercer supplied. “The other can go east, surround them on both sides. Exit through the interior access in twos.” 

“If we stay out of sight, we can find vantage points and finally figure out what’s going on in there.” Shepard said. 

The rest of the team nodded, satisfied with the plan. 

Kolle, Shepard, Vakarian, and Alenko crowded in first. Kaidan rushed to squeeze in next to Shepard, but Kolle was too quick. The turian jumped in between them, sandwiching Kaidan between himself and the compartment wall. 

The four of them were stacked up against each other tightly. When the airlock hissed closed, Garrus and Shepard realized they were chest-to-chest, stuck until the pressurization was finished. Garrus didn’t know where to put his hands, awkwardly resting them on the bars running along their heads. He was painfully aware of how close he was to her and had to remind himself to keep breathing normally. It was impossible to look at her this close, especially when their bodies were flush against each other, without feeling light-headed and slightly nauseous. He really hoped she wouldn’t notice. 

His posture inadvertently caged Jane in, forcing her to look at his face. She could just barely see through his helmet, but his eyes were flitting about nervously, looking anywhere but at her. She wondered if he was nervous about the mission, though she didn’t notice him doing it earlier. _Was he embarrassed about the security panel?_ She wondered. _No._ She shook her head. _He wouldn’t let something like that distract him, would he?_ Jane wanted to punch Nova for being so impatient and snooty earlier when he hadn’t unlocked it on the first try. She doubted the asari could have gotten it any sooner. Besides, Garrus and Nova were both the top-ranked tech experts aboard, so it’s not like the rest of them knew any better. _No, it has to be something else, but what?_ Jane wondered. She stared at his face, watching his eyes flit back and forth, occasionally drifting to her and leaving just as quickly. _I hope he isn’t nervous about the mission._ She furrowed her brow, lost in thought. His eyes drifted to her again, and when he looked away, his mandibles both flicked outward as he tried to hide his face. _Is that a smile?_ She shook her head, bewildered. _Garrus, what is wrong with you?!_ She wanted to figure him out so badly, but he kept throwing her curve balls. 

Garrus hated that he couldn’t stop smiling, but the look on Jane’s face was just so _adorable._ He loved the way her nose scrunched up when she concentrated on something. He tried to turn his head so she wouldn’t see, but he doubted he was successful. She noticed everything. 

The airlock beeped once and then unceremoniously spilled them out onto the floor of the maintenance tunnel. They all grumbled and dusted themselves off. 

“Alright.” Jane said, standing up and switching on her helmet’s headlamp. “We’re going west?” 

“Correct.” Phasan confirmed into her comm, muffled by the sound of the airlock hissing for a second time. 

Shepard pulled up her omni-tool for a GPS reading. “Should be this way.” She pointed to their left. 

“After you.” Kolle nodded to Shepard, flourishing his hand dramatically. 

They ran off through the tunnel, the sound of the airlock cycle fading rapidly behind them. The catwalk rattled under their boots and echoed off the metal walls. They hoped it wasn’t audible from the outside, but couldn’t afford to slow their pace. A bright pink light illuminated the hallway in front of them, casting shadows of waves across the walls. 

“Field generator one.” Garrus muttered. 

It was a hulking mass of equipment, spinning and pulsating with power. The center of the machine glowed an intensely bright red, too bright for Jane to look at, even through the shielded, polarized glass of her helmet. She thought it was beautiful, wishing briefly that she had time for a picture. 

The generator was gone as quickly as it had appeared. They were sprinting now, not worrying about their noise, only wanting to get into position before the mysterious invaders started slaughtering hostages. 

The access door appeared along the wall on their right and they skidded to a halt. 

“We should split up the snipers.” Jane said, breathing heavily from the run. “Kolle you go in through here. Take Kaidan as a spotter. Garrus and I will find an access farther down. Remember to stay out of sight.” 

“Good luck.” Kolle nodded. 

Garrus and Jane were already gone as soon as they slid through the door into the center of the dome. 

“Did you hear that, everyone else?” Jane called through her comm to the other team. 

“Split up snipers. Got it.” Nova called from the east side. “I’m on Phasan. Mercer, you spot Josie.” 

Jane and Garrus approached the next access, nearly halfway across the dome from the entrance. They took a moment to breathe and reload their weapons, looking at each other nervously. Garrus had been more than excited to see Jane fight, but in a hostage situation, her style of combat would have a lot of casualties, something they all wanted to avoid. He could see the hesitation in her face, likely just as aware that her abilities were not a strength in these circumstances. 

Jane gently opened the door, peeking out slowly. Through the sliver, she could see one heavily armed turian walking back and forth across the gray, dusty ground. 

“What is it?” Garrus whispered. 

“There’s someone there. A turian.” 

“We don’t have time to wait on them.” Garrus growled. 

“They aren’t leaving!” She hissed back, equally as frustrated with the guard. 

“Move.” Garrus screwed the extended silencer to the barrel of his gun and kneeled in front of the door, aiming through the gap. 

He squeezed the trigger and fired with barely a sound. He swung the door open wider, stepping out to examine the rest of the area. He turned to Jane, waving his hand in a beckoning motion. 

“It’s clear.” He grunted. 

She stepped out into the dome, marveling at the collection of rusted, old buildings underneath the pink, undulating light. The settlement was old, but it was an engineering marvel. Just those generators were enough to make this tiny pebble of an asteroid habitable enough to support a whole town. The beautiful glow settled over every surface like a dream, transforming the ancient metal hulls into works of art. She almost wanted to cry. 

Garrus tugged her arm, leading her through one of the side doors of a nearby building, trying not to imagine how Jane looked in the light. They worked their way up a dark staircase to the first-floor roof. 

The buildings were arranged around the middle of town, leaving them with plenty of cover near the wall. They climbed up a precariously stacked pile of boxes, each filled with raw material, ripped right from the surface of the asteroid. They made it onto the second floor, ducking behind ledges and walls to stay out of sight. Jane spotted someone up on the roof of one of the taller buildings, just across from them. 

“There.” She pointed. 

The guard fell down, dead. Jane turned to Garrus. 

The blue-armored turian lowered his rifle, one mandible opened in a cocky smile. He got up and took a running start, leaping over the two-story gap between buildings to land safely on the other side. 

Jane eyed the gap. She knew she could make it, but she was limited on space. She needed a running start, but the cover only went so far. She took a breath. Accelerating as fast as possible, she reached the end of the roof and launched herself into the air. Her toes touched down on the other side, but barely an inch shy of where she’d aimed. She stumbled back, but her foot found only empty space. Her eyes widened as she fell backwards. 

Garrus’ hand shot out, locking around her wrist. He yanked her onto the roof, pulling her much harder than he needed to. She flew back into him, knocking them both down, Jane sprawled on top of him. 

He flushed again, trying not to think about their close contact and where her muscular thigh was pressing through his armor. 

“Thanks.” She muttered, getting to her feet. 

“Your eyes get _really_ big when you’re scared.” He blurted out, jumping back up and following her up the ladder to the third-floor roof. 

“Not scared, just _concerned_ about falling twenty feet and ruining the whole mission.” She leapt up the ladder with ease, showing off her impressive upper body strength. “And yeah, I’ve been told that before.” She laughed, ducking down behind the wall. 

From their position, they had a clear view of the entire town center. Jane peeked over the wall, relieved to finally have some idea what they were working with. 

“Squad Kickass.” She called into the comm. “Garrus and I have clear visuals, stay hidden and wait for our signal.” 

Garrus set up his rifle on the ledge and searched through the scope. “Since when are we called that?” He asked Shepard. 

“I like it.” Said Kolle, still grunting as he moved into position. 

“You would.” Mercer quipped. 

Garrus rolled his eyes. “We’ve got hostages on the south side, surrounded by a group of guards.” He relayed back to them. “They don’t seem to be from any of the big mercenary groups. Their armor is shit, but the guns are nice, watch out.” He moved his scope to the left. “And in the north, we’ve got some sort of cargo being loaded into a transport shuttle. Looks like some of the raw ore crates they have here. Someone who appears to be the leader is screaming and waving a gun around.” He looked closer. “Oh. He’s waving a gun at his own men.” Garrus paused. “Hostages appear uninjured, just scared out of their minds.” He drew back, giving his gun to Jane for her to take a look through the scope. 

The leader was a drell, dressed in expensive armor. The others were of various races, mostly turian and salarian. They seemed relaxed, unaware of the spectre team’s entry. 

“Kaidan and Nova, can you both deploy a biotic shield big enough to cover the hostages?” Jane asked. 

“Definitely.” Kaidan replied. “But I’ll have to move in, I’m not close enough.” 

“Same here.” Nova responded. 

“Alright, wait until I give the signal, then move. And stay out of sight.” Jane turned the scope toward the hostages. She could see their faces, all frozen in expressions of horror and fear as they huddled against one another. 

One batarian child stood out from the rest. She was calm, seated along the edge of the group. Her eyes were large and black, staring directly at Jane, as if she could somehow sense her on the roof. 

Jane jumped back, heart racing. She handed the gun back to Garrus, satisfied with her assessment of the field. 

“There’s ten guards around the hostages. Mercer, wait for the others to put the shields up, then target the generator down below, just to the left of the lamp post.” 

“Got it.” 

“Think you can handle that many, Mercy?” Kolle called through his comm. 

“You know I can, old friend.” 

“Ugh, get a room.” Nova muttered under her breath. 

“Perfect.” Jane said. “Don’t hold back, guys. Double biotic shields can keep out anything.” She peeked out over the wall again. “Snipers, stay hidden, wait for my mark and then take out as many as you can. Phasan, go for the group in the northeast, you have the better angle. Josie, you take those along the western wall below Garrus and me.” 

“Easy.” Phasan giggled. 

“They’ll never see us coming, Shepard.” Josie responded. 

“Kolle, we already saw some guards patrolling around earlier, see if you can take those out.” 

“Yes ma’am!” He called back. 

Jane turned to Garrus, “I need you to cover me. I’m going to come in from the northeast – Josie please don’t shoot me.” 

“Roger that.” The human replied. 

“You’re going down there alone?” Garrus looked at her, brow plates furrowed in concern. He was incredibly impressed with her ability to lead. She was commanding and confident, the ideal soldier. Her plan so far had been smart, but her recklessness worried him. 

“I’m going to distract the rest of them so Alenko and Nova can rescue the batarians. I won’t try anything too crazy, just enough to get them out of there. I’ll wait until everyone’s made their initial hits.” 

“What about the shuttle?” Mercer butted in. “We need to disable it or that drell will just fly away the moment we start shooting.” 

“I can blow it up.” Garrus offered. 

“No, we can’t do that.” Jane sighed. “I’m pretty sure that ore is their only export, and most of it is already in the shuttle.” 

“They would starve without anything to trade for supplies.” Phasan murmured. 

“Exactly.” Shepard nodded. 

“What if I drain the battery? It won’t work if they’ve already ignited the engine, so we’d have to hurry.” Garrus frowned, frustrated that some piles of ore would get in the way of their work. 

“Can you do that from here?” She asked. 

Garrus peered over the far side of the wall toward the shuttle. “No. Shit. I’d need to get closer.” He reached into one of the compartments on his armor and pulled out a small, heavy disk and handed it to Jane. “But you can do it. Toss this towards the shuttle, as long as it’s within at least thirty feet, it should drain both the shuttle battery and the shields of whoever’s nearby as soon as I trigger it.” 

“Where’d you get this?” Jane looked at him, an eyebrow raised. 

He smiled. “I built it. It’s based on a turian device, but I extended the range and made it about ten times stronger.” 

“Impressive.” Nova commented through the mic. 

Jane nodded in agreement, slipping the disk into her side pocket. 

“They are expensive though, so try not to lose it.” Garrus added, chest puffing out a bit at their praise. 

“Everyone clear?” Shepard called. 

They all confirmed, awaiting her direction. 

“Alright, move into position. And don’t get caught!” She whispered, straining her eyes to see them through the dark windows of the other buildings. 

The people below remained relaxed and inattentive, some lazily pointing their guns at terrified hostages and others slowly loading crates, ignoring the angry yelling of their boss, the drell, to go faster. The gray dust was stirred up by so many people walking, and it clouded the air, reflecting the light like a shower of glitter. Some of the batarians below coughed heavily. 

Some of the guards in the southwest jumped to attention, focusing on something around the corner. Two more guards emerged, dragging something behind them, leaving a trail of dark, wet blood. Jane gasped as it came into view. It was the same turian they had shot earlier from inside the access door. She cursed. 

The leader spotted the commotion and grabbed his gun to investigate. He stalked across the town center angrily, shoving aside the one guard who failed to get out of his way fast enough. He stood over the dead turian for a moment, visibly fuming, before turning to examine the rest of the area, eyes narrowed. Jane and Garrus held their breath. Seeing nothing, the drell turned to the group of hostages and grabbed the closest batarian, wrapping his arm around her neck. His other hand held a gun to her head as he dragged her away from the rest of the group. A few of the other guards did the same, separating the hostages and ruining Jane’s original plan. 

The drell stopped in the middle of the clearing. “I KNOW YOU’RE HERE!” He roared, echoing inside the rosy bubble. “IF YOU EVEN TRY TO STOP ME I WILL BLOW HER BRAINS OUT, DO YOU HEAR ME?” 

“Shit!” Jane whispered into the comm, anger and fear bubbling up in her chest. “New plan, Nova and Alenko will make as many smaller shields as they can around hostages while the snipers try their very best to shoot the bad guys before they shoot the batarians. I’m going for the girl and the drell.” She shook her head, knowing that was reckless, even for her. “Wait for my signal. Please don’t shoot me.” 

Suddenly, she spied a flash of something in one window and her eyes snapped up, spotting a familiar black-armored torso. 

“Kaidan!” She hissed. “Get down!” 

The armored man disappeared. She twisted to look down, searching for anyone who might have seen him. The drell turned to look, but the girl in his arms, the same one Jane had spotted earlier through the scope, took her chance. As soon as he lowered his gun slightly, she twisted up, pulling on his arm. The young batarian managed to get enough leverage smash the back of her head on his nose and kick the gun out of his hand, sending it clattering across the ground. 

“Nice one, kid.” Nova whispered. 

The drell recoiled, not loosening his hold on the girl to stem the flow of blood from his nose. He turned back to where he saw Kaidan, eyes glued to the spot. “I SAW YOU!” He yelled, hands glowing brightly. 

By now, the rest of his guards were on full alert, pointing their guns in every direction, jumping from window to window, looking for the sniper. 

Jane charged down the stairs from the roof, fearing that at any moment bullets would start flying in the courtyard outside. Her boots were deafening in the empty, dark stairwell, and for a moment she felt like she was being swallowed up by some endless, screaming abyss. 

“Shepard, hurry!” Someone called. 

Jane hurdled over the last railing, heart pounding furiously. She burst through a side door, emerging in an alley between two buildings, pistol drawn. Two guards spun around at the sound of the door opening behind them. Jane unleashed a pull from her hand, dragging them into the air. Before they could scream she popped two bullets into their heads, hoping the sound wouldn’t carry too far, but not having the time to worry. She sprinted to the end of the corridor. 

The drell was still screaming, demanding that his men work faster and that the others find whoever killed the guard. Now though, his entire body was enveloped in a purple light, including the arm he had wrapped around the girl’s neck. Her face was twisted in pain from his biotics. They weren’t too far away. Jane stretched her legs. 

“Now!” She called into her comm, a fire lighting in her eyes. 

The air exploded into a cacophony of gunshots and she took off, sprinting as fast as she could, flinging out singularities and shockwaves into the larger groups of thugs, careful not to aim toward the hostages. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the violet shields being thrown up around the batarians and the gushes of blood spewing from some guard’s head as the sniper’s bullets hit their marks. Jane pushed herself, willing her legs to move faster, kicking against the ground with all the strength she could muster. 

The drell dropped to the ground as soon as he heard the first gunshot. He threw up a biotic barrier, also holding the girl out in front of him as a batarian shield. 

_Fucking asshole._ Jane and Garrus both thought simultaneously. 

The turian sat perched up along the roof, frantically shooting at everyone near Jane, nerves unraveling as he watched her sprint across the open courtyard under a barrage of deadly projectiles. He wanted just one clean shot at the drell, but he couldn’t risk hurting the kid. All he could do was desperately pick off thugs one by one so Jane can get the shot she needs. Or, even better, so she can give Garrus the shot to finally end that son-of-a-bitch’s life. Oh yes, he liked that idea immensely. 

The guards all scrambled for cover, ignoring the batarians completely as soon as they were under attack. They had no idea where to hide, still unaware of their position. The other hostages dove into different buildings as soon as their captor’s heads exploded. Despite being unarmed and terrified, Garrus saw many of them come crawling back to help others, dragging everyone but the girl to safety, assisted by Kaidan and Nova’s shielding. 

The drell was fast, his glowing form sprinting around a corner. Jane followed, feet slipping in the dust. What she saw around the corner made her stop in her tracks. 

The drell came sauntering back at her, one arm nearly strangling the child, the other held up in the air. Above his head, floating in a purple energy field, was a massive crate, filled to the brim with ore. He strolled back into the courtyard, laughing, delirious with biotic rage. 

“You want to kill me?” He asked in an icy voice. “Then she dies, too.” He laughed joyously, tightening his arm around her as she struggled. The background noise had quieted, meaning all of his men were either dead, or too scared to keep fighting, but the drell spoke as if he’d already won. “You’re going to let me get into my ship and fly away. Wouldn’t want to do anything that might hurt this little _princess_.” He said in a creepy baby voice, making Jane cringe. 

“No way, asshole!” Shepard snapped. In a much lower voice she added, “I have a plan, but I need a distraction.” 

She sighed, knowing her next move was going to be risky, but the look of terror and pain on the batarian girl’s face was more than enough for her to make her decision. _I’m going to get you out of here, I promise._ Shepard hoped the kid could understand her. 

The southwest corner exploded, and from a hole in the wall came a fast purple blur, landing on the ground in a spectacular cloud of dust. As it settled, Kaidan appeared, striding towards them, biotics crackling with energy. The drell turned toward his new opponent, sizing him up, never letting the cocky smile leave his scaled face. He inched toward the shuttle, looking back and forth between Alenko and Shepard. Another door busted open from the east and out walked Nova and Phasan, pistols drawn. Quietly, Mercer slid into view from behind a corner, shotgun aimed at the enemy’s face. The drell’s smile faltered and he slid his attention away from Shepard. 

_Big mistake._ She saw her opening and ran. Time seemed to slow down as her nervous system flooded with energy, her biotics buzzing to life. Her legs pounded against the ground, each step sending her flying forward faster. The drell never turned to look, never heard her approach. He loomed closer and closer in her vision, everything else a blur. She dropped down, sliding in the rocky dust, feet forward. In a split second, she collided with the drell and his captive, grabbing hold of the girl with one strong arm and raising the other to throw up her most powerful biotic shield, blasting the drell in the opposite direction. 

The gigantic crate of ore hovered in the air for a moment before falling several feet, directly into Jane’s barrier. The rest of the team held their breaths, hearts pounding. It landed with a sickening crack, destroying the crate and letting the shiny, black rocks tumble out onto the ground, completely burying Shepard. 

Garrus was at his wits end. He stared through his scope, searching desperately for signs of movement, trying to believe that her biotics were strong enough to withstand several tons of rock. He gripped his rifle painfully, trying to stop his hands from shaking. 

The ground team rushed over to help, stopping short as the pile started to shake. Suddenly, the mound exploded, sending rocks flying. From the center, emerged a weary Shepard, carrying the body of the small batarian girl, who was thankfully alive enough to cling to her neck. 

“Oh, thank god!” Kolle cheered. 

The rest of them breathed a sigh of relief. Garrus wanted to sing. 

A flash of movement caught the turian’s eye and he swiveled the gun to look. He cursed loudly. 

“Watch out! He’s headed for the shuttle!” Garrus barked out, sending out several well-aimed shots, all of which were deflected by his expensive armor’s redundant shielding. 

Jane’s head whipped around. She reached into her side pocket and grabbed the disk Garrus had given her. Shepard clutched the girl with one arm, and with the other sent the device hurtling directly towards the ship. 

Her aim was perfect, landing just a few feet from the metal hull. Garrus pressed the button as soon as it hit the ground, and the disk sent out a massive wave of energy, lighting up the immediate area in a bright blue. The drell was just close enough to get caught in the blast and his entire body seized up, coursing with electricity. 

As soon as his shields were drained, Garrus pulled the trigger, ending the drell’s life in one clean shot. His mandible twitched out in a smile. 

~ ~ ~ 

“Shepard.” Garrus pulled her aside in the briefing room, letting the others file out in front of them. “That was amazing what you did today.” He looked down, feeling sheepish. 

They were both still dressed in their dirty armor, exhausted after the post-mission briefing. The drell had been a once-high-level drug lord, named “Vero,” who had recently fallen on hard times. Apparently, he was desperate enough to resort to robbing remote colonies, and already had many kills under his belt. Garrus detested those kinds of people. He liked replaying the moment of Vero’s death in his mind, knowing that the drell deserved far worse than what he got. 

Jane smiled. “I thought you’d say it was dangerous or something.” 

“Oh, no. It was _extremely_ dangerous.” He laughed, still relieved that she’d made it out not only alive, but uninjured. “Please don’t do that again, or at least make sure I’m not there to see it.” He wanted to take back his lame joke as soon as he said it. The truth was that he would rather he be there to protect her, even if that meant watching her do something reckless. He knew that was partly a result of his ego, believing that no one could protect Jane as well as he could, but he wasn’t in spectre training for nothing. 

She laughed softly. “I’ll try to keep the risk to a minimum.” 

Jane never regretted her actions for a moment. They’d managed to save every single hostage. After the little girl had been reunited with her parents, she had run back for one last hug, whispering “I knew an angel would save us” into Jane’s ear. She teared up at the memory, turning her face away from Garrus. 

“It was really brave, too.” He said, placing a comforting hand on her arm. “I don’t think anyone but you could have pulled it off.” 

She sniffled and placed a hand over his, squeezing appreciatively. “Thanks.” Her eyes were filled with tears when she looked at him. The redness around her eyes highlighted the dark green ring around her iris, a beautiful complement to her fiery hair. She sighed heavily. “I think we both need showers and sleep.” She yawned, her exhaustion overriding every other emotion. 

He chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry to make you wait.” He followed her out of the room to the dormitories, a pleasant warmth building in his chest. 


	3. Robot Army

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus and Jane's first solo mission together!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm late updating, I was visiting my parents and didn't have a lot of time! As a sorry gift I'll be posting two chapters this week!! <3

~ ~ ~ 

Chapter 3 

Robot Army 

“You see those mechs?” Jane pointed with the end of her heavy pistol. 

Garrus nodded. 

“If we get to them, do you think you could override security protocols?” 

Garrus snorted. “I could do that in my sleep, Shepard.” 

Jane laughed, still out of breath from the run inside. “That’s good because you’ll probably be getting shot at while you do it.” 

“As expected. What’s your plan?” He ejected a heat sink, not worried about being heard over the roar of the industrial fans on the far side of the room. 

“Take out these guys,” She motioned to the mercs patrolling lazily across the factory floor. “Get to the mech. Rewrite security protocols and then send it into the main floor through the cargo doors across the room.” 

“How do we get the doors open?” Garrus couldn’t see an access panel or control switch anywhere. 

“Good question.” Jane holstered her gun, turning to crawl on all fours behind the stacked cargo boxes along the second story railing. She moved towards the corner, careful to keep her head and guns out of sight. 

Garrus followed, mesmerized by the way her rear end moved as she crawled. Her hips seemed to work in a similar way to turians; they had very similar legs in general. But her body was full and round where turians were usually hard and sharp. He wanted to reach out and grab her ass to see if the texture was as he imagined, but he vaguely remembered that being an intimate area for humans and was momentarily revolted with himself for even thinking about doing something that might make her uncomfortable. He leaned back at the edge of the wall, wiping all emotion from his face, despite the helmet and biological differences preventing her from seeing or understanding his embarrassment. 

She peeked around the corner, keeping an eye on the guards at the bottom. She spied a control room about four stories off the ground, inset into the wall. From this side, there was no visible entrance, only a maintenance ladder and a cat walk along the ceiling. She could see some cables piled up along the catwalk grate, dangling loosely off the edge. 

“Ugh,” She sighed, pulling back around the boxes. “Opening the door is going to take a lot of climbing.” 

Garrus took a look from behind cover, heart sinking at the height of the ladders. They had to reach at least six stories from the ground, the nearby walls covered with signs stating: USE OF CLIMBING GEAR REQUIRED – RISK OF DEATH. 

“You ready?” She loaded a round into the chamber, shifting to her feet. 

“Always.” He cocked his rifle with a nod. 

On Shepard’s signal, she stood up, flinging a singularity into the three mercs standing together on the main floor. Garrus raised his rifle and let out three shots with unnatural speed and accuracy, one bullet through each head. 

Jane always marveled at his skill. She suspected it might have been a turian thing, but her experiences fighting with Kolle and Mercer had never taken her breath away like Garrus did. He was fluid and confident and seemed to balance her style perfectly. She liked to fight up close with her powerful biotics, carving up the battlefield in a spectacular, catastrophic way. He liked to lay low, hiding somewhere up high where he could wipe out an entire army without being seen. He was a perfect cover for her, and she had never felt more secure than with him at her back. 

In a flash, she took off down the stairs, ducking behind more crates and dodging bullets from the remaining guards. Her hands filled with purple, glowing power, making her fingers tremble from the building energy. Her head swam, overtaken by her biotics in an all-consuming, endorphin-filled craze. Her body ached for action, needing to expel some of the energy. When a mercenary rounded the corner to the stairs, she let loose a shockwave powerful enough to burst his skull and splatter the walls with bits of blood and bone. 

Two more guards confronted her at the bottom of the stairs, shooting wildly at her. She kicked the closer one with a glowing boot, sending him flying into a concrete pillar with a nauseating crack, and shot the other one through the head with a quick flash of her pistol. She walked out onto the bottom floor where all the guards were busy shooting at Garrus up above. She saw several bodies littering the floor, each with a hole blown through the center of their face. _Damn,_ every _kill, Garrus?_

There were only seven, all hiding from the sniper. From her position, she could see them, unobstructed. She started with the guard in the back, unleashing a pull that launched him well into Garrus’ sights. The guard’s head exploded. 

“One down!” He cheered into his mic, clearly enjoying himself. 

Next, she let loose a blast to knock over some crates, crushing two more guards under their weight. The last three caught on to their plan, scrambling for cover from both sides. Their panic made them easy targets. One was hurled into the air in a purple flash, screaming for his life. Another burst into flame, and Shepard yelled “nice!” into the comm. Jane hurled another pull at the last guard, followed by a massive warp blast. His entire body exploded, smearing chunks of guts and viscera across the room. 

Jane heard the crack of another loud gunshot, and then a loud thump just behind her. She whipped around, pistol drawn, to see another dead guard, still twitching, with a large hole in his head. 

“You’re welcome.” Garrus purred into the comm, pleased with himself. 

“Thanks a million.” She rolled her eyes. “Now get down here and hack this damn machine.” 

He laughed and strolled down the stairs, latching his rifle to his back. He made his way to the mech controls, examining his kills as he went. 

“You really make quite a mess, Shepard.” Garrus whistled at the blood-spattered walls. 

“I don’t tell you how to do your job.” She huffed. 

“Oh, spirits.” He stated after a few moments of typing. 

“What’s wrong? Can you get into the system?” Jane rushed over, knowing she probably wouldn’t understand anything technical, anyway. 

“Oh, yeah I already did that.” He waved her over to look at something on the screen. “I just found their systems password, and it’s ‘badasskiller69.’” 

She laughed, crossing her arms over her chest. “No way. You just typed that in to mess with me.” She shoved his shoulder playfully, wondering if he knew about her lack of technological skill and was making fun of her. 

“No, I swear!” He laughed, enamored with her easy nature. Most turians were fairly closed off, himself included, which was the result of growing up in a culture that revolves around discipline and self-control. But Jane had a sense of openness and emotionality that he’d never seen before, in a turian or a human. It was humbling and endearing at the same time. 

“Did you reprogram the mech?” She asked. 

“Of course.” He smirked. “I also shut down their security alarms, gained access to all mechs in the system, and rerouted the mech controls to my omni-tool.” 

“Holy shit.” 

“Yeah. They have terrible security.” 

“Did you happen to find the door access controls?” She looked up at the ladders. 

Garrus sighed. “Nope. There’s a mag-lock that has to be disengaged from the gatehouse.” 

“To the stairs, then.” Shepard said sadly. 

They climbed back up to the second floor and found the ladder again. Jane went up first, followed closely by Garrus. He stared at her ass again as she climbed, trying to figure out her muscles and joints. 

“Don’t look down, Garrus.” She snickered. 

“Hard to look away from such a view,” he blurted without thinking. 

She froze, then leaned down over her shoulder to stare at him through his helmet. “Was that a joke about my ass?” 

He could imagine the amused look on her face, one eyebrow up questioningly. “No.” 

She giggled and continued climbing. “Good one, Vakarian.” 

The heat didn’t fade from Garrus’ face until they made it to the top of the catwalk. The warehouse floor yawned out beneath them like the mouth of a thresher maw. Jane was completely at ease even being seventy-five feet off the ground. She worked quickly, tying the cables securely around the beams and looping the other end through her harness to make a wench. Garrus copied her, knees wobbling every time he looked down through the grating. She descended first, repelling slowly down the wall, letting loose an inch of cable at a time. She lowered herself to the same level as the gatehouse balcony, then steadily began swinging her legs to gather momentum. A soon as she was within range, she released the cable, letting it zip through her belt, sending her body crashing onto the balcony. She tried to roll on her landing, but ended up tangled in the wire on the floor. 

“Execution was good up until the end. Plus three for not falling to your death. Minus ten for not sticking the landing. Sorry, Shepard, I’m afraid you don’t qualify for the next round.” 

“Oh, shush. Let’s see you try it.” She snorted as she unwound the cables from her legs. 

Garrus very slowly inched himself over the ledge, hands trembling around the cable. He did his best not to look down, but he could feel the abyss below waiting to swallow him up. He descended, heart pounding at every slip of the wire. After what felt like hours, he reached the point level with Jane. Even though he had dropped down two stories, the ground didn’t look any closer. He steeled himself and started kicking, hating the swinging feeling for making him even more nauseous. He gradually built up momentum, nearly going high enough to jump off, when he heard a horrible metal groan followed by a sharp snap. The cable broke free and suddenly he was falling. He reached out, lunging for the balcony railing. The cable had snapped nearly at the apex of the swing, just before his body would have fallen onto the balcony, safe. Now, he flailed in midair, groping at anything to stop his fatal plummet. 

Something else reached out and clutched at his arm, jerking him painfully to a stop. He looked up to find Jane bent over the railing, hands wrapped around his arm. She pulled him up far enough for him to get a grip on the metal bar, and then helped drag him over, frantically grabbing at his armor. As soon as he was safely on the balcony, she wrapped her arms around him tightly. 

“Minus three thousand points for scaring the shit out of me.” She laughed, relieved, into her comm. 

Garrus was thrilled at her gesture, too surprised to respond initially. As soon as his brain remembered to hug back, she was already pulling away. 

They stood up, both breathing hard, and turned to walk into the gatehouse, guns drawn. With a solid kick, Jane sent the door ricocheting off the back wall, lock utterly annihilated. The three guards inside jumped to attention, fumbling for their guns. Jane rounded on the closer men, letting loose two shots into each of their skulls with lightning sharp accuracy. The third asari guard was faster, drawing her gun and firing off shots from behind the control panel. Shepard and Vakarian dove into cover. One of the guard’s shots hit its mark, nailing Jane right in the shoulder. She grunted and slammed the medigel release on her omni-tool, sucking in sharp breaths. 

Fire shot through Garrus, a mix of anger and worry and fear. He’d never seen Jane get hurt before in action, and the emotional intensity of his reaction almost scared him. He’d never felt such a primal urge to protect and avenge someone before. He wanted to rip the guard to pieces, make her pay for daring to hurt someone he cared about. 

He gripped his rifle and darted out of cover. She followed his movement, shooting wildly at him as he ran. Garrus ducked behind another wall and waited for the pause, hearing her gun click as she ejected the spent thermal coils. He stepped forward, rifle well within range. He moved closer to her, watching her fumble to reload, adrenaline causing her hands to shake. He kept her in his sights the whole time, waiting. She slid the magazine into place, face curling into a cruel smile as she pulled out of cover to finish him off. Garrus squeezed his hand and she fell back with a solid thud, still smiling in triumph. He curled his mouth into a smirk. 

“Are you alright Jane?” Garrus sealed the doors before rushing back to check on her. 

She stood up, stretching her neck, trying to get a sense for her range of motion. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Thanks.” She winced a bit as she moved her arm, making Garrus’ heart twinge painfully. 

The main controls were lined up along the far side of the room, below a gigantic window overlooking the main warehouse floor. It was cavernous, full of crates and cargo boxes stacked up in haphazard rows and columns. It was a maze of stolen merchandise. Entire ships were stored under large tarps. They could see several anti-aircraft guns, most larger than hovercars, some larger than Garrus’ entire apartment. Rows of inactive mechs blinked silently in one corner, awaiting their commands. The mercenaries themselves patrolled lazily through the aisles of loot, many of them taking a break, lounging on crates and talking to each other, completely unaware that their base had already been infiltrated. 

“Here, you take this.” Garrus handed over his sniper rifle. “Keep a lookout while I set up.” He immediately began fiddling with the controls. 

Jane took a look through his scope. With the added zoom, she could see the markings on the AA guns. Alliance. She cursed as anger flowed through her and she only barely restrained her hands from glowing purple with biotic rage. She’d gotten word a while ago that an Alliance freight ship had been taken over, half the crew was spaced, the other half slaughtered in cold blood. Many of the personnel on board had been non-combat, completely unprepared for a fight. The few guards they had weren’t nearly enough to repel the attack, especially after the raiders had gotten past the ship’s outer shields. The guns had been traveling to a remote human colony to assist in building up their ground defense. The ship was lost and the colonists left to survive without necessary supplies. 

“Looks like my security shut-down worked. The asari managed to punch in a distress code, but it didn’t go through.” Garrus clicked his mandibles in satisfaction. “I can set the factory doors to open below when we’re ready. The heavy mechs should be standing on the other side.” 

“What about the others?” Jane pointed the rifle at the rows of smaller mechs, standing inert at the far end of the room. 

He opened his mandibles in a smile. “I’ve got an idea.” He walked back over to the window, kneeling beside Shepard. He adjusted the controls on his omni-tool. “We let in the heavy mechs right below us, let loose on the mercs. It’ll draw a lot of attention. They’ll probably send in all the people they’ve got. We let them concentrate on that for a while, get dug in to their positions. Then, we activate the mechs in the back.” 

“We’ll already have them surrounded.” Jane smirked, pleased with his suggestion. 

“Exactly. We’ll have to be careful to watch for explosives, though. I’m not sure what’s in some of those crates.” 

“Garrus! Someone’s coming!” Shepard pointed toward the left side door, where a batarian was casually strolling across the catwalk from the other side, heading for the locked office. 

Garrus leaped into action, slamming the cargo door control open beneath them. They felt the floor vibrate as the large metal panels slid out of the way. The merc at the door paused at the sound, turning back to investigate. Just then, a barrage of bullets was unleashed into the factory, sending the guards scattering. Jane and Garrus watched as the heavy mechs stomped into view on the main floor, wreaking havoc on everything in range. The guards scattered, diving behind boxes and firing sporadic shots into the heavily-armored machine. More doors opened from different directions and mercs streamed into the room, all carrying guns suspiciously similar to Alliance issue. 

In a fit of rage, Jane shot out one of the smaller panes of the window and began taking out mercs, one by one. The recoil slammed into her hurt shoulder, but she gritted her teeth and kept shooting, needing to make them pay. 

“What are you doing?” Garrus looked at her, head cocked sideways in confusion. 

“Some of that stuff down there is Alliance.” She took out three more. “And I know they didn’t get it by asking nicely.” 

“Those ships on the right are from the turian military.” He said sadly, then brightened into a smile. “Should I activate the other mechs now?” He asked with a smile. 

“Fuck yeah.” 

He typed in the commands and watched the robots come alive. They shot two people before the mercs realized they had enemies on all sides. They panicked, all trying to find cover. A stray bullet nicked something flammable and significant portion of the mercenaries erupted into flame, along with one of the heavy mechs. 

Jane was like lightning, each shot hitting its mark in rapid succession. A smirk stayed fixed on her lips, showing just a sliver of white teeth. He was blown away by her skill, even feeling a bit of professional jealousy. _Well, I guess I’ll be a good back-up sniper._ He thought to himself wryly. Her biotics favored an up-close approach, so he doubted she would like the change, anyway. _But still, is she good at everything?_

Eventually, the fighting died down. What few were left alive tried to run, so Garrus sent a squad of mechs after them, making sure not to let anyone escape from the countless crimes they committed. Jane shot two before they could make it out. He powered down the rest of the mechs, confident they could both handle whoever else was left. 

They both crept down the catwalks and stairs to the main floor, trying to make as little noise as possible. Jane turned around to speak to Garrus, only to find he’d vanished. 

She unholstered her pistol, feeling uneasy. She walked around the crates slowly, trying not to make a sound. There was an incredible amount of contraband. She noticed several containers of hallex scattered along every flat surface. Most of it was untouched, but a fine layer of blue dust over everything indicated that it was frequently used. 

A hand grabbed her shoulder and she spun around, the scream dying in her throat as she saw who it was. Garrus held a finger over his helmet, signaling Jane to stay silent. His hand motioned for her to follow as he tiptoed away down an aisle of cargo. Something rattled to their left and they ran after it. Around the corner, a volus was typing furiously on a systems access panel, his face illuminated by the glowing blue screen. 

“Freeze!” Garrus commanded, gun drawn. 

The volus pressed one last command into the computer before turning to face them, hands in the air. 

“I’m terribly sorry.” The volus timidly backed away from the computer, breathing heavily through his mask. “There must be some mistake, officers.” 

Shepard and Vakarian moved in close, stopping just in front of the console. 

“Yeah ri-“ Jane was cut off by a massive arc of electricity flowing from the machine and into their suits, completely blowing out their shields. 

They fell to the floor, armor smoking along the edges. Jane shook her head and stood up, searching frantically for the volus. Garrus ran ahead of her, shooting wildly at the tiny retreating figure, disappearing behind thick elevator doors. He kept stumbling towards the exit, suit smoking slightly. He banged at the doors with his fist and slammed the access panel. 

“Wait.” She paused, listening. “Do you hear that?” 

Their hearts dropped. From inside the storage containers, they could hear horrific screaming and pounding, almost completely muffled by the thick walls. 

“Help! Please!” The voice was muted but strong, coming from the box nearest them. 

They rushed across the room, skidding to a stop at the door. Shepard’s fingers searched along the edge of the crate, finally catching on the release. She threw the doors wide open. Straining to see into the darkness, she could barely make out the figures of dozens of people, of all species, emaciated and dressed in rags, crammed into this old storage container like animals. 

One salarian reached out to her, too weak to stand. “There are others. They are injured.” They coughed deeply, chest heaving. 

Jane looked around, spotting similar cargo containers either on fire or riddled with bullets from the previous fight. Some were tipped over and crushed. 

“Oh my god.” Jane’s heart pounded as the realization of what they’d done finally set in. They had just destroyed a slave-trading hub. “Garrus we have to help them!” She started throwing open more cargo doors, shining the bright, industrial light onto the squinting, emaciated masses. 

“Stay here.” He turned back to the metal doors. “I’m going after the volus.” He punched in the call command and waited. 

“What? You can’t! There’s no way I can help them all in time, Garrus. Please, they’ll die!” She begged, pausing her medigel administration to look at him desperately. 

“If we let him get away, he’ll probably just do the same thing somewhere else, I’ve seen it happen before. Besides, he probably has more information about the trade, and we could use that.” He stood straight and stiff, like he was taught in the military. He couldn’t let his emotions cloud his better judgement. 

“Are you serious?” She glared at him, tears welling in her eyes. “ _He_ didn’t hurt these people. _We_ did. We _have_ to save them! I need you to help me!” She was begging now, voice frantic. The guilt grabbed hold of her heart in a vice grip. 

“Jane,” He paused, finger on the button, knowing that every moment he hesitated, more people bled out, and the volus waddled farther away. “I don’t want to make this choice, but I have to. He has to pay. He’ll just keep doing this.” The look on her face made his mouth taste like blood and regret. He didn’t want these people to die, but if he didn’t catch the one responsible, there would only be more victims. 

“Is that what this is about? Retaliation?” She spat out at him, hands shaking violently. 

“No, this is about justice.” He didn’t believe the words as he said them, only repeating what he’d been told his whole life. He had to believe he was saving more people by continuing the chase. In the military, they always had protocol, always had a plan. Garrus had never questioned it. It had been thoroughly drilled into his head since adolescence to prioritize the future over the past, to concentrate on punishment rather than healing, to finish the mission at all costs. His beliefs rang hollow in the wake of Jane’s words. 

“What do you think they care about, Garrus?” The tears spilled over, running down her cheeks and down into the collar of her shirt, sparkling behind the glass of her helmet. “Justice? Or their lives?” She turned away, refusing to waste any more time convincing him to stay. She leapt into action, applying medigel the injured and ignoring the stinging sensation behind her eyes. 

Garrus shook his head, feeling like his own inner conflict was about to rupture his skull in, cracking it apart down the middle. “Argh!” He screamed in frustration, shoving the doors apart and rushing out of the elevator. He sprinted to the most damaged container and flung it open, applying medigel as fast as he could. Jane was right, there were too many injured for her to handle alone. Even with his help, they weren’t going to be able to save them all. Many of them were already past saving, their dirty bodies covered in burns and blood. His heart broke. _There was so much damage here, already._ He winced, absolutely appalled at the conditions these people were kept in. They had no bathroom, no space, very little food and water, and everything was covered in a layer of grime. He couldn’t believe he’d turned his back on them. 

“Thank you.” She whispered into her comm, not pausing her work. 

He nodded, unable to respond. He knew she had made the right call. He couldn’t put it into words yet, but he was grateful for her influence. She’d given him a lot to think about. He still hated that the volus got away, but Garrus made a promise to himself to find that evil bastard one day. At least on that day, many of the people in the crates would be that much closer to a normal life. 

~ ~ ~ 

Latent Pain 

Garrus sat hunched over his omni-tool, mind lost in concentration. The room was empty, as Mercer and Phasan were out on a misson. Jane was likely still in the dining hall with Kaidan and Josie, where he last left them. He figured this was likely the only moment he might have to himself for a while, maybe until the next shore leave. Since the last mission with Jane, he’d started wondering what it would be like to be with a human. He’d never found the appeal before, but now he couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

He cozied up in his bed facing away from the rest of the room. To be extra careful, he routed his omni-tool through to his eye piece so absolutely no one else could see what he was searching. At first, he kept his searches confined to purely scientific information on human biology. He researched their physiology, their general anatomy, their reproductive habits, squirming uncomfortably at his own voyeurism. He eventually stumbled upon a website for interspecies relationships that featured an article on turian-human intercourse. He couldn’t tear his eyes from the screen. He kept his hands clenched into fists, trying to ignore the heat rising between his legs. His plates felt tight and he ached for pressure. He couldn’t get the images out of his head, knowing full well the human he pictured was Jane. 

“Hey, Garrus, could I get some help?” He snapped his head up, thanking the spirits that he hadn’t tried to touch himself. He hadn’t even seen her walk into the bathroom, too focused on his research. 

A shiny-wet Jane stood next to his bed, wrapped in a towel. She couldn’t have had worse timing. He tried to keep his eyes from wandering all over her body, but he’d never seen so much of her skin showing before, and it was tantalizingly wet. He could almost taste her on his tongue, and the overwhelming scent of her shampoo made his head spin pleasantly. His mind was still swimming with ideas, even more vivid now that she was standing right in front of him. Her hair was damp, and he was surprised to see it was several shades darker. He almost asked her about the change in color, when his eyes flared open wide at her shoulder. 

A dark purple and black star-shaped wound stretched across her skin from her collarbone to midway down her arm and partially under where her towel covered her chest. All arousal drained out of him, replaced by a fiercely strong wave of concern. He wanted to reach out and soothe her pain away with his hands and his deep harmonics. 

“Oh my god, Shepard. Are you alright?” He leaned forward to get a closer look, worry clouding his face. 

“Yeah.” She looked down at her shoulder, shrugging as much as she could with her injury. She was holding her hurt arm across her chest to reduce the strain on her bruised muscles. “This is the aftermath of getting shot back at the Blue Sun’s warehouse. It’ll fade soon. Right now, though, I can’t reach up very high, and I need you to help me get my duffel down from my shelf.” 

“Oh yeah, sure.” He jumped up and walked to the bathroom, wincing at the look of her arm. He’d felt guilty about letting her get shot in the first place, but looking at her now made him even more regretful. He knew humans were more sensitive than turians without the plates, so he should have been covering her better. She can take care of herself easily enough, but they were supposed to be a team, and he wasn’t going to let her get hurt on his watch ever again. 

He grabbed the duffel bag from her assigned shelf and moved it into a stall. She nodded in thanks and closed the curtain behind her. 

“Does it hurt?” He asked, hoping she wouldn’t mind him staying to talk. It was a communal bathroom, but some people weren’t always comfortable with that. 

She snorted. “ _Oh_ yeah.” She unzipped her bag and rummaged through her small assortment of clothing. “Not the worst bruise I’ve ever had, but it’s never fun.” 

“What’s a bruise?” He sat down along the bench in front of their lockers. 

“When humans get hit really hard, it breaks blood vessels beneath the surface of the skin, sometimes causes swelling. It hurts, but eventually, the blood is reabsorbed and the tissues heal.” 

“Is the blood what makes it look like that?” 

“Yep. Sorry, it’s probably really gross for someone who isn’t human.” 

“It’s alright, not like you can help it.” He could hear her struggling with her pants. He wanted to offer to help, but figured she’d rather struggle than let him see her half-naked. “I thought humans had red blood. Why is it purple?” 

“Not sure. I think it changes colors as it breaks down, but I don’t know. Old bruises sometimes look green and yellow, too.” She stepped out from behind the curtain in her N7 sweats, a sling holding her arm in place. “Wait. Do you _not_ have red blood?” She handed the duffel bag to him and he set it neatly on her shelf. 

“Nope.” They walked back into their dorm, falling back onto their respective beds. “It’s blue.” As an example, he stuck his long, forked tongue out of his mouth to display its rich azure color. 

“Blue snake tongue.” Jane stated, eyebrows raised in admiration. “Very cool.” 

“I don’t know what a snake is, but thank you.” He smiled, flicking his tongue out again. 

“We just have these pink, stubby ones.” She stuck her tongue out at him. 

“Aw. It’s cute.” He surprised himself with his own words. He didn’t find things cute very often, but he couldn’t deny that it was. A lot of things about Jane were cute. And sexy. 

She blushed at his words and giggled. “Thanks.” She was slightly shocked at how strongly she responded to his compliment. She decided to file that emotion away as “to be processed later.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun bio facts:  
> Blood breaking down into different, smaller proteins as it's reabsorbed into the body is why bruises change color! Jane was right!  
> Also, blue blood is only found in organisms (like horseshoe crabs) who use copper as the oxygen binder in their hemoglobin molecule instead of iron like we do! The iron is what gives our blood the red color. In my mind Turians have the blue copper blood, too!


	4. Vigilance

~ ~ ~ 

Chapter 4 

Vigilance 

Garrus sat slumped at the mess hall table, absently stirring his dextro meal-sludge around with a spoon. Jane was on a mission with Kaidan, Mercer, and Nova, and Garrus had been a big ball of nerves since she stepped off the ship. Every time he blinked, images of Shepard’s lifeless corpse, riddled with bullets, flashed against the inside of his eyelids. His body ached for action. He wanted to be there to fight with her, to be her extra set of eyes on the battlefield. He didn’t trust anyone else to keep her safe. He sighed, pushing his uneaten food across the table. He appetite was long gone, and his own worry made his stomach turn uncomfortably. He wasn’t allowed into the briefing since he hadn’t been assigned to the mission, so he had no idea what was happening down there. He knew Kaidan would do his best to protect Jane, but the kid was overly eager and sometimes reckless. He had enough trouble looking out for himself, much less Shepard, too. Garrus’ chest rumbled in annoyance, hating that he couldn’t be there for her. 

Chakwas suddenly rushed through the medbay doors, carrying her emergency medical case in both hands. Unnoticed to anyone but Garrus, she quietly boarded the elevator and punched in the floor button. Her gray hair was ruffled and sticking up at odd angles and her eyes were wide, darting around nervously as she chewed her lip. 

The doctor’s worried look sent chills down his spine. Chakwas was usually cool and composed, so to see her so unhinged was especially alarming. Garrus leapt out of his seat as the doors closed, realizing what her frantic exit meant. He jumped up over the table effortlessly to follow her, reaching the elevator just as it begun its descent. He slammed in the command for the elevator, cursing every second it took to climb back up to him. 

Kolle stared, head tilted sideways in confusion. “What’s going on?” He called as Garrus slid into the elevator. 

“I don’t know.” Garrus spat out irritably, stepping between the doors and punching the button for the shuttle bay. 

He tried to quiet his mind, unable to keep the growing panic at bay. As he descended, he could hear a dozen voices yelling through the metal hull, growing louder as he approached. Fear gripped his heart and squeezed as he huddled in the corner of the lift, awaiting the moment the doors would finally open to reveal Jane Shepard, dead. She was the kindest and bravest person he’d ever met, and he couldn’t bear to lose the beautiful friendship that had only just blossomed between them. He cursed at himself. He’d had a bad feeling from the start, but what could he have done? He couldn’t have stopped her from going on the mission. _I should have been there, on the ground, right beside her!_ He thought to himself angrily. He pounded on the metal wall with his tightly clenched fist, leaving a slight dent that he hoped no one would notice. 

The doors slid open smoothly to reveal a scene of utter chaos. The shuttle was partially smashed and on fire where it was parked diagonally in the garage. There were long gouges in the floor, indicating that the shuttle crash-landed into the docking bay at a high enough speed to skid across the ground for several yards. A crowd of people, mostly mechanics and deck-hands, were running around frantically, trying to save the wreckage. The shuttle pilot was also throwing buckets of water onto the flames, his suit only partially scorched along the right shoulder. Another worker unleashed a blast of cooling foam towards the fire, swallowing half the room in a bright white cloud. Flecks of chemical foam fluttered in the air, mixing with smoke and fumes, turning everything into a toxic mess. 

Garrus covered his mouth and nose with his elbow, reeling slightly as he looked for the ground team. He kept his eyes away from the fire, refusing to believe they were still inside the crackling shuttle. Even from the elevator, he could feel the heat of the flames as they undulated, swallowing metal and fabric in its fiery jaws. Now, the cooling foam stung his skin where it landed, making him shiver in the sweltering heat of the room. He rubbed his face, trying to see through the smog. 

His eyes darted over to a flash of white lab coat in the far corner of the room. Dr. Chakwas was kneeling over two bodies on the floor, administering medigel. Kaidan and Nova stood above them, looking down worriedly. Their own armor was beaten up and their faces were covered in spots of black soot. Kaidan wrung his hands together, face twisted. The human’s armor was burnt along the arms, giving his gauntlets an intricate pattern of scorches. Nova clutched at herself while she bit her lip relentlessly. 

Garrus’ heart dropped. He sprinted over to them, choking on the air as panic rose in his throat. The sets of armor on the floor were both familiar. His whole body went numb as he identified the one on the right as Jane Shepard. She was lying on the ground, unmoving, next to a badly bleeding Mercer. Helmetless, her hair spilled onto the floor in tangled waves. Her face was blank, almost serene, and partially covered in bright red blood. Parts of her armor were melted, completely missing in some places. 

“Garrus!” Kaidan called, tears in his eyes. He approached the turian, wanting to offer some support. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He pleaded with him, pain and guilt shining in his eyes. His words were nearly drowned out by the commotion in the background. 

“Quiet, Kaidan.” Chakwas snapped, yelling above the noise. She was working furiously on both patients, skilled hands flying. “They need to be taken up to the medbay. You two,” she pointed at the ground team, still covered in blood and dirt from the mission, “grab Mercer. His leg’s got a compound break so be careful.” She turned to Garrus, still standing there in shock, staring at Jane. Her words were gentler, but still firm with a tone of urgency. “Garrus, you help me with Shepard. Nothing’s broken, but I need you to watch out for her burns.” 

He stood, unresponsive. _She’s burned?_ His hearing faded in and out, alternating between head-splitting ringing and the deafening noise of the shuttle bay. His hands no longer felt connected to his body and his vision swam. 

Chakwas snapped a finger in front of his face, bringing him to attention. “Move, Garrus!” 

Jumping forward hastily, he wrapped his arm under her torso, eyes bulging at her burned armor. She’d been hit by some sort of explosive, and it had been at close enough range to blast right through her shields. His chest rumbled deeply, his own instinct kicking in, wanting to console her, to fight off anyone who dared to come near her. He held her tightly to his chest, hoping she could feel the comforting vibration. One arm lifted her legs gently and he followed the rest of them into the elevator, not taking his eyes off her. 

Nova and Kaidan each had one of Mercer’s arms wrapped around their necks. The asari held his broken leg up, carefully avoiding touching anything with the oddly-angled appendage. Her blue face was flushed and sweaty, the circles under her eyes darker than Garrus had ever seen them. Kaidan on the other hand, was completely red and distraught, glancing at Jane ever so often and releasing a choked sob. Nova winced every time he made that sound, looking like she was about to cry, too. 

“Garrus?” 

He looked down, surprised and overwhelmingly thankful to see Jane awake, though clearly in pain. 

Shepard squinted her eyes in the bright light of the elevator. “Thought I recognized those strong arms.” Her voice was scratchy and deep, but her tone was playful. Her eyes stared, unfocused, making her look disoriented and confused. A lopsided grin appeared on her face, gazing up at the turian dreamily. 

“Shepard!” Chakwas reprimanded, searching in her medical bag for something. “Stop waking up! I don’t have enough sedative!” 

“Shush, doc.” She slurred, waving her off. She turned back to Garrus, wrapping her good arm around his neck. “You came to get me!” She hugged him. “Thanks, dude.” She nuzzled into his chest, still grinning. 

The others smiled slightly despite their own tension, glad that the most injured one of them could still muster a positive attitude. 

“Aha!” Dr. Chakwas exclaimed, fingers closing around the correct object in her bag. She stepped forward to administer a quick shot to Shepard’s upper arm, which made the soldier wince and move closer to Garrus’ chest. 

“Are you okay, Jane?” Garrus asked softly, still intensely concerned despite her good mood. 

“No.” She frowned and shook her head. “I got blown up.” She pouted, still endearing, even covered in blood and lightly roasted. 

Kaidan winced at her words, biting back his guilt. 

“I’m so sorry.” Garrus fought the urge to nuzzle the top of her head. “Does it hurt?” He asked quietly, noting the look on Kaidan’s face. 

“Yeah.” She shrugged, lids falling shut. “I gotta go to bed now.” She muttered, her head turning into his chest. Despite the stinging sensation across her entire left side, she was immensely comfortable in his arms. Her limbs felt heavy from Chakwas’ meds coursing through her veins and she struggled to keep her head up. She wanted to talk to her best friend, but she couldn’t manage to keep her eyes open any longer. 

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Kolle was still at the table where Garrus left him, playing some silly game on his omni-tool. Upon seeing the group in the lift, he jumped up, eyes fixed on Mercer. 

They all rushed to the medbay, the clinic doors opening up for them soundlessly. Garrus focused only on Jane, eyes raking over her wounds, wondering how much pain she was really in. He followed the doctor, laying her body down on one of the tables, never letting go of her arm. He rubbed his thumb in calming circles, chest pulsing a worried hum. He could see a red puddle pooling around her body on the table, and he realized that he was also covered in her blood. 

“Vakarian!” Chakwas snapped, bringing him out of his trance. “I need you out of here!” She pointed firmly at the door. 

He realized he was the only non-med staff in the room, besides the injured. He glanced back down at Jane, fighting a very primal urge to stay with her. 

Since very early on in his evolutionary lineage, when they were still quadrupeds, turians, and their ancestors mated for life. When one mate gets sick or injured, it triggers an emotional reaction in their partner to protect and defend them until they recover. The reaction used to incite a violent rage in the healthy partner, supplying them with energy to stay up for weeks with minimal sleep and food. In their modern form, the rage is much more subdued, ranging from mild irritability to intense and violent mood swings, and can be triggered by the death or injury of anyone close to them. It was a very old evolutionary trait, something that had largely disappeared from the general population, and was considered taboo by many. 

_I guess I’m just a savage, then._ He looked down at her again, heartbroken and bitterly angry both because he couldn’t stay and that he wanted to so badly. 

The doctor softened when she saw the look on his face. “Shepard’s lost a lot of blood. I need to prep for surgery.” She put a firm hand on his shoulder, steering him away from Jane and toward the exit. “I’ll call you as soon as you can see her.” She whispered, sealing the door behind him before he knew what was happening. 

He stared at Jane through the window until the doctor wrapped a curtain around her bed, closing off his view. He barely realized where he was. Everything since he’d found Jane unconscious had felt like a dream. He’d never seen Chakwas in such a panic. He knew she was a highly capable doctor, so seeing her like that was deeply unsettling. He had a horrible hollow feeling in his chest, like he was caving in on himself. 

“Garrus,” a familiar voice said. “I- I’m so sorry. I know she was your friend, too.” 

The turian turned around. It was Kaidan, face puffy and red, hands nervously wringing together. 

“It was an accident.” He said sadly. 

Garrus felt his hands shake with rage. Alenko nearly let Jane die and that was all he had to say? He fumed, panic and fear colliding inside of him, creating a hurricane of emotion that threatened to tear him apart. 

“What happened?” He breathed, barely restraining the anger from his voice. 

“I- I don’t know.” Kaidan admitted. 

“That’s not good enough.” Garrus trembled, hands balled into fists. “Who was supposed to be spotting her?” He asked, already knowing the answer from the look on the human’s face. 

Kaidan looked down, unwilling to answer. 

“What fucking happened, Alenko?” Kolle growled as he approached, his usual playful tone completely gone. His chest was rumbling loudly, embarrassingly emotional for a turian, but he didn’t seem to care in the slightest. 

“I’m sorry, Kolle.” Kaidan looked back and forth between them, eyes wide with terror and unspoken apology. “I really don’t know! I was hit before, I can’t remember!” He pleaded with them, backing up into the wall. 

“I thought you said it was an accident.” Kolle threw back. “Was it? Or do you not remember?” 

“It was! I swear!” Kaidan hung his head, clutching his temples. “It was an accident.” He whispered. 

Garrus snapped. “AN ACCIDENT?” He roared, grabbing Kaidan’s shirt collar in his fists and slamming him against the wall. 

“Please, Garrus!” He begged, body shaking with another bout of sobs. Garrus knew in the back of his mind that the biotic could annihilate him at any moment without a single weapon, but he was too incensed to care. Alenko wasn’t scared of the turians anyway, only of the guilt and self-loathing that their anger intensified. 

“I saw the look on your fucking face, Alenko! She could have died! She could still die!” Garrus spat out. 

Kaidan hung his head, unwilling to fight back. He felt like he deserved it. He hadn’t been vigilant enough, hadn’t been fast enough. Garrus was right to scream at him, to twist the knife that was already cutting into him so deeply. 

“TELL ME!” The turian screamed in his face, slamming his back against the wall, again. 

“It _was_ an accident.” Called a higher voice from behind him. 

Garrus turned around, not loosening his hold on the Lieutenant’s shirt. Nova was standing behind him, face dull and exhausted, but now free of soot. 

“The guy got around all of us.” She said, moving her hand to Garrus’ shoulder. “When he fired, one of the bullets hit something. None of us could see it.” The asari bit her lip, voice breaking slightly. “Jane was closest to the explosion.” 

“What about Mercer?” Kolle asked. 

“He was second closest, broke his leg when it blasted him off a balcony.” Nova took a deep breath to steady herself, still replaying the moment he fell over and over in her mind. She was supposed to be covering the turian. When he disappeared over the balcony, she had almost dived off after him. “Kaidan got hit with a concussive shot right before it happened. He couldn’t have done anything.” She paused, eyes welling up. “Then the shuttle got hit as we left.” She paused for a moment, steeling herself and suppressing her emotions. “Garrus, he pulled her out of the fire. She would be burned alive if not for him.” 

Garrus turned back to the despondent human, hands loosening reflexively. He glanced at the burn marks along his armor. “Is that true, Kaidan?” 

The human nodded. He took a deep breath, looking at the ceiling. “I just want her to be okay.” Alenko croaked out, tears streaming again. 

Garrus released his hold on Kaidan’s shirt, his anger dissipating completely. Kaidan’s regret and shame hung openly on his face, showing Garrus a stark reflection of himself. There were always going to be things he couldn’t protect Jane from. He could never be vigilant enough to prevent her from befalling illness or some freak accident, and she’d never let him keep guard over her every minute of every day. Kaidan had just experienced that helplessness in first person. They both cared for her and both feared she could be taken from them without warning. Garrus wrapped his arms around Kaidan, regretting everything he’d said before. 

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, knowing that wasn’t consolation enough, but being unable to offer anything more. 

Kaidan hugged back, letting himself sob once into Garrus’ shoulder. “Thank you.” 

“Chakwas is going to get her back to full strength.” Garrus pulled away, nodding at the human reassuringly, trying to convince himself, as well. 

“Of course, she is.” Kaidan smiled back, eyes glistening. 

~ ~ ~ 

Garrus didn’t sleep all night. He sat in the mess hall, head leaned back against the metal wall, watching the medbay door. He tried to go to bed, but found that he was far too restless and agitated. He felt hollow every time he thought of Shepard on the operating table. He pulled his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his knees. He wanted something to fight, something he could do for her besides wait. He knew he was going to hate every mission she went on without him, and he knew he could never let her know that he hated it. She wasn’t the type to appreciate over-protectiveness. She was independent and strong, and could take care of herself. He respected and liked that about her, but it didn’t change the fierce desire in his heart. 

His wrist pinged. 

**Chakwas** : She made it through surgery. Vitals are strong. 

He felt himself release a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. His body shook with relief, fingers fumbling to type his response. 

**Garrus** : Can I come see her? I’m outside. 

**Chakwas** : She isn’t awake yet, and you shouldn’t be either. 

**Garrus** : I’d still like to see her. 

**Chakwas** : Alright, I’ll let you in. 

Garrus looked up just as the medbay door hissed open, revealing a haggard, gray-haired woman, still dressed in her blood-stained surgical clothes. She waved him in. He was relieved to see that the doctor was considerably calmer than she’d been before and no longer had a spark of fear in her eyes. 

She walked him back to the small critical care section, opening the first door on the left. Jane was lying on the medical bed, most of her body in specialized burn wrap, and secured in a position on her side that wouldn’t interfere with her injuries. Garrus walked closer, only now being able to see the extent of her burns. Her entire right side was singed, taking off a thick layer of skin in some places. The surgery had removed most of the damaged tissue, leaving horrible pink gashes all over her body, sealed with special medical gauze. 

“She’ll need several skin grafts. We’re cloning tissue in the lab now.” The doctor wiped her forehead, sighing deeply. “She’s lucky. No signs of internal injury, so she should make a full recovery. We’ll have to see about the scarring. Sometimes it’s almost unnoticeable, sometimes not.” 

Garrus pulled a chair to her bed to sit down, reaching out for her unburnt hand and squeezing tightly. He couldn’t bear to look at her wounds, focusing on her face, still serene with unconscious bliss. 

“If you wish to stay, there’s an extra cot in the storage closet.” The doctor yawned. “I need to sleep. It’s been a long night for me.” She could see the clear adoration the turian had for Shepard written plainly on his face. She’d seen them together often in the mess hall and always admired their sweet friendship. She more than trusted him to keep her company through the night. 

“Thank you, Doctor.” Garrus whispered as she smiled and closed the door, not taking his eyes off of Jane. 

He hummed unhappily, brushing a strand of hair out of her face with his gloved hand. She frowned slightly as the glove scratched roughly against her skin. He cursed, hating the fact that he was resigned to wear them. 

His race was evolved from a long line of predators and retained several predatory characteristics, such as huge talons and razor-sharp teeth, a fact that turians was also largely embarrassed by. His race didn’t want to be seen as primitive savages by other intergalactic species, so they trained their children from a young age to hide their talons behind gloves at almost all times, especially around other races. Jane didn’t seem to be the type to care about something like that, and she was literally unconscious, but he still felt strange about taking his gloves off. 

He felt a short burst of anger at his reluctance. He’d never bought into any of that “primitive” crap, so he shouldn’t feel self-conscious about it now. He pulled off his gloves quickly and tossed them onto the bedside table. He flexed his hands, feeling a slight rush at breaking such heavily-ingrained rules. 

Carefully, he reached out to hold her hand, touching her skin for the first time. He nearly gasped. She was incredibly soft, softer than he’d imagined, and pleasantly warm. He cradled her tiny, delicate hand in his, cautiously keeping his claws from touching her. He inspected the bones and muscles in her palm and wrist, gently massaging as he went. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly and he heard a faint, contented sigh escape her lips. 

He remembered a lullaby his mother had sung to him as a child. It was about the perseverance and growth of his people despite their planet’s intensely hot and long summers. He thought it was an appropriate metaphor for her. He smiled, beginning the first verse. He ran through the song once, remembering how his subvocals would mix with his mother’s, creating a beautiful four-part harmony. He sang it again, feeling the familiar notes flow through his chest and throat sounding clearer and stronger the second time. 

“That’s r-really pretty.” She mumbled, words slurring together. 

Garrus felt his face flush, embarrassed now that she was awake. “Shepard, are you alright?” He whispered, keeping up the bass melody in his chest. 

“I’m fine if you keep singing.” She smiled, eyes fluttering open drearily. 

“It’s a little strange if you’re awake.” Garrus admitted sheepishly. He hadn’t sung for anyone but his mother, and not in a long time. 

“I’ve never seen your hands before.” She whispered, gripping weakly at his fingers. 

He glanced down toward the bed, where his hands still laid, wrapped around hers. He panicked, yanking them out of her grasp and into his lap. He winced at himself, glad that he at least hadn’t moved her enough to cause pain. He knew he shouldn’t have pulled his hands away, but he couldn’t help the fear that erupted in his chest at her comment. 

She frowned, eyebrows pulling together and lip jutting into a pout. “I’m sorry.” 

Her voice sounded heartbreakingly sad and he wanted to apologize in some way, but he didn’t know what to say. He wanted to explain, but it would take a long time and she was already drifting off to sleep again. He softly started up his song, sounding even better now that his vocals had warmed up. He sang it over and over, continuing until well after she was asleep. When she started snoring softly, he allowed himself to cradle her hands again, whispering “I’m sorry” to her in the dim light of the room. 

~ ~ ~ 

He stayed by her side the entire time she was in the medbay, curled up on a cot in the corner, keeping watch. He growled every time he was asked to leave the room so the nurses could change her bandages and clean her off. He knew it was necessary and he was glad that the medical team on the ship was the best of the best, but every moment of separation filled him with a steady flow of anger. If they took too long, he had to excuse himself to the training room to let loose on one of the dummies, ripping two of them to shreds on separate occasions. 

The few times Shepard woke up, she was mostly unintelligible from the pain medication, but always smiled at him and the doctor. Chakwas said that was a good sign, and that her positive attitude will speed up the healing process and improve her reaction to the cloned tissue. He wanted to talk to Jane more, but doc always had to ask her questions and run tests while she was conscious. 

The third day, Chakwas stopped him as he was coming back from his speed-shower, looking stern. He stared back at her sourly, eyeing the door to Jane’s room behind her. 

“Garrus.” She snapped her fingers, pulling his attention back to her. “Jane is going into surgery again, tomorrow morning.” She checked her omni-tool. “That’s ten hours from now. I don’t know how long it will take, but it will be longer than any of the checks we’ve run so far.” 

He looked at her suspiciously, unsure of where she was going. 

“You won’t be allowed in the operating room, obviously, so I suggest you find something to do with yourself until it’s over.” She looked at him, eyes full of concern. “I’m a good doctor, Garrus. I know what’s going on with you.” 

He flinched, face flushing at having been found out. 

“I suggest you find some way to blow off some steam. I can give you a mild sedative to help dull the effects, but that’s all I can do.” She sighed, glancing back at Jane. “I know it won’t help, but she’s doing remarkably well. I have high hopes for her recovery.” 

He nodded, eyes sliding back to Jane’s door, wanting to end the conversation as quickly as possible. 

“You can go back in.” She sighed, stepping aside. She was annoyed with Garrus for being so pushy and irritable while she was trying to do her job, but she knew it was due to reflexes he couldn’t control. Mostly, she found his passionate loyalty for Shepard incredibly sweet, and was glad to know Jane had such a good friend to help her through the healing process. 

He walked to the door, his bad mood fading as he got closer to Shepard. He turned back for a moment. “Thank you, doctor.” He smiled at her warmly before shutting the door and curling back up on his cot next to Jane’s bed. Chakwas had been incredibly accommodating towards him over the last week and he couldn’t express how grateful he was. He made a promise to get her something nice during the next shore leave. 

~ ~ ~ 

When Chakwas came in the next morning to prep Jane for surgery, Garrus was already sitting up in bed wide awake, holding Jane’s hand and singing to her softly. He hadn’t slept the whole night, or at all the night before. He kept trying to push the image of Jane being sliced into out of his head. He knew she wouldn’t feel anything, but he worried nonetheless. 

He said goodbye to Shepard and wished her luck before being escorted out of the medbay by the tired doctor. He stood by the window and watched as they wheeled her bed out of her room and down the hall. Anger bubbled up in his chest as soon as she was out of sight. He wanted to smash through the glass and crawl to her. He turned away angrily, storming off to the training room to relieve some tension. 

As soon as he walked through the gym door, he heard a loud bang. Across the room, someone was in the middle of a brutal fight, absolutely destroying their limp opponent in the sparring ring. He almost ran over, but he caught sight of a lounging Mercer just inside the door. He was lying down on the bench with his broken leg propped up on a pile of blankets. He was reclining back, one hand behind his head, the other watching something on his omni-tool. 

“What are _you_ doing down here?” Garrus asked, one brow plate raised. 

“Getting ready for a match.” Mercer replied, not looking up from his wrist. “What’s it look like?” 

Garrus scowled at him, chest rumbling irritably. 

Mercer smiled, pleased with himself for getting a rise out of Garrus. “It helps Kolle when I’m here.” He shrugged, pointing towards Kolle where he was choking out a sparring dummy, slamming it into the ground occasionally. 

Garrus walked over to the cage, peering in through the fences at Kolle’s manic attack. The turian ripped the head of the dummy off with his bare hands, pulling out the foam stuffing from the inside. 

“Oh, hey Garrus!” Kolle exclaimed when he looked up. He got to his feet and dusted himself off dramatically. “I was just about to go to the firing range, would you like to accompany me?” The turian dug his claws into the mutilated chest and dragged the headless dummy with him out of the cage. 

“Sure.” Garrus’ hands twitched. Shooting off a couple of rounds sounded like a _great_ way to relieve some of his building rage. 

The firing range was in the same room, just tucked into the back wall. Kolle chucked the dummy over the safety barriers and hung it up along the target zone with some maintenance cables. He grabbed his training bag, unzipping it and pulling out two hand guns, one shotgun, and his own assault rifle. He ran back [CG1]  over to Garrus, face bright with unfiltered glee. 

“Watch this.” The turian set down everything but the shotgun, loading two rounds into the chamber. Widening his feet and squaring his shoulders, he aimed right for the dummy’s chest. “Say goodbye, my headless friend.” 

The figure’s chest exploded, releasing a cloud of fluffy white foam stuffing into the air. 

“Ha! Now, you try.” Kolle handed him the shotgun, picking up a pistol to replace it. 

Garrus took the gun from him and assumed the appropriate stance, tensing up for the massive recoil. Fire was still circulating through his body, but seeing Kolle destroy something offered a surprising amount of relief. He squeezed the trigger and the dummy’s abdomen burst open, showering the shooting range in even more white fluff. 

“That’s the spirit!” Kolle beamed and shot three rounds through the left arm, one through the hand, wrist, and elbow. 

Garrus switched the shotgun out for a heavy pistol and the two of them let loose their entire magazine into the fake body until it was an unrecognizable heap. They stood for a moment, breathing heavily from the rush. 

“Why are you doing this, Kolle?” Garrus looked at him, feeling the anger subside briefly. 

“Same reason as you.” He shrugged, glancing back to Mercer along the far wall, still looking through his omni-tool. 

Garrus remembered the turian’s words as he’d walked into the training room, and suddenly everything clicked into place. His head swam at the realization. 

“We’ve been together for almost seven years, now.” Kolle sighed, shoving a full clip into the bottom of his gun. “It doesn’t get any easier. Every time he gets hurt it feels like the very first time.” He unloaded half of the clip into the pile of stuffing on the ground, shots ringing distantly in Garrus’ ears. “I find it helps to stay active.” 

Garrus stood still, bracing for the next wave of emotion. He’d felt like such a freak for his urges, and yet here was another turian right in front of him, embracing his own nature without shame. He felt like he might collapse. He didn’t want to acknowledge Kolle’s implication. He knew he cared about Shepard greatly, but to say he _loved_ her was something his brain kept violently rejecting. Surely, he hadn’t known her long enough for that. Besides, he seriously doubted she would be interested in an entirely different species, especially one with sharp claws and horrifically menacing teeth. He shook his head, trying to push the encroaching thoughts from his mind, and failing. His anger flared up again, stoked by the concern over Shepard and his own frustration over his feelings for her. He felt more helpless than he had since he was a child, just starting in the military. He never could have imagined then how he felt now. His emotions were as powerful and volatile as the sea, crashing into him over and over, buffeting him against the rocks. 

“Love is a painful mess.” Kolle continued, sensing Garrus’ distress. “It’s terrifying to know that someone you can’t live without could be ripped from you at any moment. It’s a weakness. Especially in our line of work.” He shot until the gun clicked hollowly, out of bullets. “That’s why you have to make every moment count.” He placed the pistol back onto the barricade. “That way, if things turn out badly, you’ll know you never wasted the time you had. And that’s really all you can do.” He shook his head sadly. 

Garrus looked down at the gun in his hand. Kolle’s words were like a life jacket around him, holding his head above water, letting him breathe for the first time in days. He had no idea if he could ever sort out his feelings for Jane, but he knew he could still make his time with her matter. 

“Actually,” Kolle said, smiling bright again, “that’s not the only thing you can do,” 

Garrus glanced up, eyeing the other turian’s face suspiciously. 

“You could get us another target.” He smiled wide, loading the assault rifle. 

The blue-suited turian jogged over to the storage room, raising his brow plates at the amount of training dummies they had creepily stacked in the corner. _At least they probably won’t miss this one. Or the other three we destroyed._ He grabbed the closest one and set it up at the end of the firing range, then returned to the turian at the barricade. 

Garrus paused for a moment, looking at the other turian. “Is it like this for everything? Even when he gets a headache? Or stub a toe?” He asked Kolle, trying to conceal how rough his throat was. 

Kolle snickered. “No. I usually laugh when he stubs his toe. That grumpy prick deserves it.” His words were undercut by the warm, loving hum in his chest and the wistful glance at the turian across the room. 


	5. Eavesdropping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First shore leave!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, hope you're enjoying the story! The chapter after this one has been taking me forever to write, so I'm not sure if I'll be late posting next week or not. Just a heads-up!

~ ~ ~ 

Chapter 5 

Eavesdropping 

Jane stepped out of the Lorelai onto the docking platform, two large duffel bags filled with nearly everything in her possession slung across either shoulder. She only had 72 hours of shore leave, and she was going to make the most of it, dammit. Her skin was nearly completely healed, and the scars were fading faster than Chakwas had anticipated. After a full week, she was more than ready to get out of the medbay. Garrus had visited her every day after her surgery, keeping her updated with the crew gossip, making sure she was comfortable. They’d never talked about it, but she remembered the first few days he hadn’t left her side. His beautiful singing had followed her into her dreams, soothing her even in her subconscious. Thinking about it made her throat close up and her eyes sting with the urge to cry. She’d never had anyone do something like that for her, and she couldn’t begin to imagine what it meant. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind, not at all wanting to cry in public. 

She carefully avoided running into Kaidan as she left. She felt guilty about avoiding him, as he was a very good friend, and she was immensely grateful for him saving her from the fire, but she needed to relax, and his obvious pining was the opposite of relaxing. They’d had a few talks since the incident, and she thought he was going to finally confess his feelings to her so she could shut him down nicely and end it for good, but he always decided against it at the last minute. She hated the look on his face then, and she hated herself even more for not wanting him in return. It would have made her life much easier, but love is almost never easy. 

Right now, she was on her own _very_ important mission: to find a god damn cheeseburger. The food on the ship was usually less than appetizing and she had been fantasizing about a good burger since their very first meal on board. She wandered through the Citadel, vaguely in the direction of the Alliance officer housing, trying to find a place to ear. She spied an Asari restaurant, with the theme of an old American diner, only with velvet drapes, low lighting, and artificial candles on every table. _A sexy diner-slash-bar? Their decorator should be fired. Well, not like anyone around here would know the difference anyway._ She shrugged. 

Sure enough, they featured an “authentic” burger in their menu, along with dozens of items she’d never heard of before, each of which claimed to be an “authentic human recipe.” She noticed that their menu was about twenty pages long with dishes available for nearly every species on the citadel. _Man, their kitchen must be crazy._

She grabbed a table in the corner, shoving her bags underneath. Shepard placed her order with a dark blue asari, opting to get the house specialty drink as well. 

“Careful though, they’re pretty strong and they take a while to hit you.” The waitress warned with a nonchalant yawn, clearly just ready to be done with her shift. 

Shepard snorted as soon as the asari left. _I can handle my drinks, lady._ She finished her burger in record time, surprised at how similar it tasted to a cheeseburger on earth. It was a bit too salty and had a strange aftertaste, but overall still delicious. With the horrible décor, she hadn’t set her hopes high. 

Looking at the empty seat across from her, she felt a pang of loneliness. Back in the Alliance, she had been close with her squadmates. They would go out to the bar on shore leave and hang out during down time. Spectre training felt too formal for that. They all worked well together on the field, but in their down time they mostly kept to themselves, usually working on their regular, non-spectre jobs. Kaidan and Garrus were the only ones who ever spent time talking to her. Josie had a high-level Alliance security job, so she was always rushing off to take care of something. _Maybe I should make a better effort with the others._ She liked Kolle and Phasan. She thought about contacting one of them and inviting them for a drink. _Alenko would definitely say yes, but there’s no way he wouldn’t think it’s a date._ There was one person she _really_ wanted to invite, but she was worried it would be weird to message him out of the blue. He lived on the Citadel and likely had a million other people to see and things to do while he was on shore leave. She frowned, longing for his company and easy banter. Even though she hadn’t known him for long, she would almost consider him to be her best friend. She winced, knowing that she was probably only one of his many friends. _And now I can’t stop thinking about messaging him._ She banged her fist against her forehead in frustration. She pulled up his extranet address and sat contemplating whether or not it was a good idea, her inner conflict making her bounce her leg nervously. 

“Garrus!” Called a dual-toned woman’s voice. 

Jane nearly fell out of her chair. _Did someone fucking read my mind?_ She turned around in her seat, searching for the mind reader. In the lower section of the restaurant, a female turian stood, waving someone over to her booth. Whoever she was calling to was obscured by a wall featuring a neon analog clock. _There’s no way. Maybe it’s a common turian name?_

“Paven, Serenya, good to see you.” 

_Nope. Of course, it’s him._ Jane could recognize that voice anywhere. Garrus Vakarian, still in his light, blue armor, strode into sight, enveloping each turian in a hug. Jane’s heart sank. She felt like an idiot for assuming he’d be free tonight anyway. 

“So, are you too good for us lowly C-SEC now that you’ve been selected for _special_ training?” Paven asked him playfully. 

Garrus laughed. “The training doesn’t actually mean anything, just that they might want to promote me _eventually._ ” He didn’t want to admit it, but his chances for being chosen for spectre were considerably low, especially considering that he’s only been invited to take the course once. 

Jane had accidentally picked the perfect vantage spot to eavesdrop on their table. It was dark and tucked into a corner up above them, and the candle at her table had gone out while she was waiting for her cheeseburger. She froze in place, wondering if she should introduce herself. 

“But still,” Serenya inserted. “You have to be pretty good to even be picked for one of those things.” 

Shepard couldn’t move. She feared she waited too long for her reveal to seem natural. She slunk down in her seat, hating how badly she both wanted and didn’t want to hear this conversation. 

“Yeah, I guess so.” Garrus replied. 

“Sit with us! We’d love to hear about your training so far.” Serenya offered. 

“Uh, sure. Does anyone want a drink first?” He sounded tired, but his tone was still friendly. 

The turian women told him their order and he headed for the bar. 

“What are you doing?” Paven asked Serenya as soon as Garrus was out of earshot, rolling her eyes. 

“I’m trying to get laid!” She hissed back. 

“Garrus? I thought you already slept with him.” 

Jane felt a sudden rush of anger from the careless way they were speaking about him. 

“No, he always blew me off to work on some case.” 

“Maybe he was trying to avoid you.” 

“I thought so, but I checked his time logs and he was really working that whole time. The Captain even complained about having to kick him out of the office at night.” 

“Maybe he just thinks working himself to death is preferable to sleeping with you.” Paven nudged her arm playfully. 

“Ha. Ha.” Serenya stated. “I think he actually gets off on doing paperwork. I bet he was fucking those case files.” 

Jane snickered. _Roasted._

“But I’m sure I could make him forget _all_ about those sexy overtime request forms.” She added in a deep sultry voice. 

The girls laughed together, a beautiful sound with their two-toned harmonic voice. They both stopped as soon as Garrus returned with their drinks, sliding into the booth beside Serenya. 

“So, you enjoying life without having to file paperwork every time you breathe?” Serenya took a long sip of her drink, sharing a look with the other turian woman. 

Garrus sighed. “I miss it actually. How else am I supposed to spend all my time?” He was clearly being sarcastic, though the effect seemed to be lost on Serenya. 

“I could think of a few things.” She whispered coquettishly, sliding in close to him on the booth. 

“Did you hear about Lorro Vaughn getting arrested the other day?” Paven interjected, ignoring her friend’s overt flirting. 

Garrus leaned forward. “No, what happened?” He sounded tense. 

“This was something else.” She started. “He’s only ever been in for petty crimes before. Remember, that unarmed robbery you took him in for last year?” 

Garrus nodded, taking a deep gulp of his brandy. 

“Well, he must have gotten into some shit since then.” Serenya added. “Because now he’s a freakin’ lunatic.” 

Paven nodded. “He destroyed a med clinic in the slums about a month ago. Erased their files, wiped data backups, and then just took a Halen laser to the place. Cut through almost everything. Luckily, it was after hours, but it still took about ten of us to get him out of there.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Didn’t think he had it in him.” 

“Shit.” Garrus said. He remembered Lorro being unintelligent and passive. Even the robbery was non-violent. Lorro had simply tried to sneak away with a set of expensive financial VI’s, only to get caught about ten feet from the storefront by a C-SEC officer, who witnessed the entire thing. As far as Garrus could tell, he was just poor, didn’t even know what the VI’s were used for. 

“Ugh.” Serenya threw her head back. “I hate talking about _work_. I wanna know what you’ve been doing in _special_ training.” She leaned forward on the table, insisting he tell her. 

“Hmm,” Garrus thought, “I helped disarm a hostage situation on an asteroid mine. Didn’t lose anyone.” 

“Oh my god.” She clutched at his arm. “That’s amazing! Did you get hurt?” She asked, projecting an overly-sympathetic tone. 

Jane rolled her eyes at Serenya’s histrionic performance, hating that she was only pretending to care about Garrus to sleep with him. He deserved so much better than that. 

Paven cleared her throat. “I need to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.” 

Jane smirked. _Clearly Paven had enough of that insufferable act, too._

As soon as the other turian left, Serenya pounced, a hand snaking over his knee. “Hey, Garrus.” Her voice was sexy and deep, her harmonics loud enough for Jane to hear them. “Want to get out of here?” 

Jane sucked in a breath, hinging on his answer. 

“What?” Garrus sounded incredulous, completely taken by surprise at her straightforwardness. 

“Do. You. Want. To. Sleep. With. Me.” She said very slowly, voice still just as alluring. 

“Uh,” Garrus paused. “No.” 

Jane let out her breath in a long sigh. 

“C’mon, I promise it’ll be fun.” She giggled. 

“Sorry, Serenya.” He scooted away from her slightly, moving her hand from his leg. 

“Oh, why not?!” She whined. 

“Why can’t you just accept my answer, like an adult?” He sighed. 

“I _am_ an adult, Garrus! And if you’re going to turn me down, I’d at least like to know why!” 

Jane and Garrus both cringed at her petulant tone. It was childish, but he could see she was hurt by his firm rejection. She was attractive, likely not used to being told no before, and while she did need to grow up, he didn’t want to hurt her any further. She had a look in her eyes that showed more vulnerability than her words let on. 

“There’s someone else, alright?” He said in a rush, more softly than before, just wanting Serenya to drop the topic for good. He always hated revealing personal details about himself, both because of his turian upbringing as well as his own private nature, but he felt that giving up some bit of truth would soften the blow for her. 

Shepard nearly fell out of her chair after hearing Garrus’ declaration. Some strong emotion bubbled up in her chest, and she didn’t want to stick around to dissect what exactly she was feeling. _I gotta get out of here. Now!_ Jane quickly pulled her bags out from under the table and started searching for an exit. The main door was right past the turians’ table, but there were some kitchen doors a bit farther down the wall, out of sight. 

“Who is it?” Serenya asked, voice light again. 

She waited a moment for the waitress to move on to a different section and then walked right into the kitchen, catching Garrus’ “none of your business” just before the door closed behind her. As soon as she stopped, she felt dizzy and tingly in her limbs. She vaguely remembered the asari’s warning earlier about the drink 

The kitchen was nearly twice as big as the restaurant, with a staff of about a dozen people frantically preparing food. 

“Hey!” A salarian chef called. 

Jane whipped around to face her, freezing in place. 

“Get out, you idiot!” She snapped, flinging a half-frozen shrimp at her. 

She turned and bolted out of the far side door, nearly knocking over a pile of huge frying pans. She came out on the far side of the restaurant, vision blurred, stumbling like a college freshman at a frat party. Paven rounded the corner from the restrooms and Shepard almost jumped behind a potted plant before realizing that the turian wouldn’t recognize her anyway. 

“Shepard?” 

Jane whipped around, dropping one bag on the floor, the other sliding down her arm. 

Garrus strode towards her, trying to suppress the obvious rumble in his chest. _The one person I wanted to see tonight._ He hummed to himself. As he got closer, he noticed her eyes were unfocused and she was swaying from side to side. 

“Jane, are you alright?” 

She nodded her head vigorously, making her red hair bun bounce up and down. 

“Shit. Did you have one of those asari drinks?” Garrus sighed and picked up her bags, ignoring her weak protests. “They really shouldn’t be allowed to serve that to humans.” 

“I’m fine!” Jane said several decibels too loud, forcing a wide smile. 

“Right, right.” Garrus chuckled. “Let’s get you home.” He offered his arm as a support, which she took reluctantly. He paused. “Did you come here with anyone?” Garrus tried to keep his voice as light as possible, fearing she would say yes. 

“Nope.” Jane shook her head. “Just wanted a cheeseburger.” 

Garrus sighed in relief, internally shaking his head at her impulsivity. “Well, I see you still have your bags, so I’m guessing you just went straight to the bar and got wasted?” 

“I’m really good at planning ahead.” She mumbled. 

Garrus laughed. “Where are you staying?” 

“Alliance Housing.” 

“Jane,” he sighed, “that’s the opposite direction from the docking bay.” 

“Oops.” She was leaning heavily on his arm now, eyes beginning to droop. 

“I doubt you could even check yourself in anyway.” He nudged her arm. “Shepard, you can stay with me if you want, my apartment is really close by.” He felt giddy and excited at the thought of more time with Jane. “I’ll give you the bedroom and I’ll take the couch.” 

“No way!” She objected. 

Garrus felt his heart plummet, afraid that he had offended her or crossed some line he didn’t know about. 

“If I’m the guest, then I’ll take the couch.” She said firmly. 

_Oh, Jane. Why do you do this to me?_ Garrus wanted to scoop her up and carry her in his arms the rest of the way. He was overjoyed that he she took him up on his offer. He rarely had visitors, and he had never been this excited to share his space with anyone before. 

They arrived at his apartment a few minutes later. It wasn’t very large, just a kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom – perfect for a workaholic bachelor. Garrus took her bags to the bedroom, only to come back into the living room and find her fast asleep, snoring, on the couch. 

He decided not to disturb her. He grabbed a pillow and a blanket from his bedroom and gently tucked her in, making sure she was comfortably warm. He didn’t realize his subharmonics were resonating so fondly and so loudly until they nearly drowned out a whisper from the couch. 

“Thanks, Garrus.” 

“You’re welcome, Jane. Get some rest.” He purred. 

~ ~ ~ 

For the first time in months, Garrus slept in late, relishing the soft comfort of his own bed. He stretched slowly, enjoying the dull ache in his limbs from combat practice a couple of days earlier on the ship. He fished around in his drawers for a comfortable pair of casual pants and slipped them on. 

He opened the bedroom doors with a mechanical hiss and went to walk into the kitchen. He froze in his tracks upon seeing a familiar flash of red hair peeking over the arm of the couch. The events of the night before had felt like nothing more than a dream. To discover Jane was actually in his house, sleeping on his uncomfortable couch no less, made his heart flutter in his chest. He continued to the kitchen, trying not to wake her. He made himself a dextro-coffee and searched through the fridge for something to eat. 

“Good morning.” A sleepy voice called from the living room. 

He looked over as she walked into the kitchen. She had changed into a loose-fitting shirt and _very_ short shorts at some point during the night. Garrus kept his eyes locked on her face, adamantly refusing to examine the soft, bronze skin stretching all the way from her hips to her toes. Her hair was a mess, completely tangled and sticking up at odd angles. 

“Did you make coffee?” She asked hopefully. 

“Yes, but unfortunately, it’s not your chirality.” He frowned, sad that he couldn’t share something with her. 

“That’s alright.” She waved him off, leaning against the counter. “I can get something delivered.” 

“I might have to do the same. I forgot that I haven’t been home and don’t have any food.” 

“Perfect! Do you know anywhere that serves stuff that we can both eat?” 

“I know a few places. Though, I can’t promise the amino food will be any good.” 

“I’m so hungry I don’t even care.” Jane grabbed her stomach, feeling famished. 

Garrus’ eyes followed her movement, zoning in on the way her shirt hugged her curves. He could see the pointed nipple at the end of her large, round breasts and nearly forgot how to breathe. 

“Uh,” He shook his head. “Just send me what you want and I’ll place the order.” He typed in the command on his omni-tool, and Jane’s pinged at her wrist in response. 

Jane slowly entered in her food order, chewing her lip in concentration. Settling on the couch, she kicked her feet up onto the coffee table. 

“Your hair looks great, by the way.” He called from the kitchen, stirring his hot coffee with a spoon. 

She reached up to examine the damage. “You know, it took me _hours_ to make it look this good, Garrus. All night, in fact.” 

He joined her with his coffee, turning on the television for some background noise. 

“Oh, I love this show!” Jane leaned forward, order sent. 

Garrus looked up to see a popular asari drama unfolding. He’d never liked it, thought the acting was bad and the plot ridiculous. 

“It’s terrible, but it’s hilarious.” She grinned. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen worse acting in my life, I love it.” She laughed at some horribly forced dialogue, combined with an expression that no living being should ever need to express. 

Garrus chuckled too, enjoying her infectious attitude. He’d always thought it was bad, but he’d never really thought it could be funny. Seeing Jane laugh now, it was hard for him to deny it. He even found himself laughing along with her after a few minutes. It was the happiest he’d been in a long time. When their food arrived, they settled back on the couch, feet propped up and shoulders touching as they laughed and ate the best meal they’d each had in years. 

“Are you going back to the Alliance dorms later?” Garrus asked, already dreading the moment she had to leave. 

“I mean, I don’t want to overstay my welcome.” She leaned forward to put her plate, now empty, on the coffee table. “Thank you for letting me stay, by the way. I’m still really embarrassed that you had to take care of me. I promise I’m not usually such a lightweight.” She laughed. The memories from last night were sharp and clear despite her intoxication. His words were repeating in her mind, “there’s someone else.” He could have made it up to get away from Serenya, but the way he had said it revealed such a vulnerable truth. _Who is it? Who is it? Who is it?!_ Jane hated how badly she wanted to know. 

“No problem, glad I was there so you didn’t end up in C-SEC detox.” He smirked, trying to quell the rising panic in his chest at the thought of Jane being left alone on the Citadel, lost and drunk. Being taken to detox would have been the least of her worries. At least they would have kept her things for her and let her out in the morning. He growled involuntarily, too low for Jane to hear. He was an officer, he knew what happened to people when they ended up in the wrong part of town or wandered out of a club drunk enough to make themselves a target. She could have been mugged, raped, murdered, or who knows what else. She was a dangerous soldier, but even that didn’t guarantee her safety. There were a million ways for bad people to incapacitate her before she even knew what was happening, especially if she wasn’t sober or ready for a fight. He wanted to run out onto the streets at that moment and take out every criminal in sight, damn C-SEC’s rules. He wished he could protect her all the time. “You can stay with me, if you want.” He blurted out. 

She raised her eyebrows. “Really?” She hated the Alliance dorms. The reminded her of cheap hotel rooms, and the management always tried to overcharge her. 

“Yeah. I’ve got plenty of space, and I already have to pay for it, anyway.” He shrugged, secretly giddy at the thought of an extended sleepover with someone who he considered his best friend. 

She turned towards him, folding one leg underneath her. Her face was deadly serious. “Are you sure you’re okay with that? You can tell me no. I understand if you need space.” 

“Of course, I wouldn’t have offered otherwise.” He nodded. _I’d give you anything you asked for, Jane._

She threw her arms around his neck with an excited squeal. “Thank you so much! The dorms fucking suck.” She breathed a sigh of relief, excited to escape the loneliness of her usual shore leave as well as the bland, Alliance walls. Garrus’ companionship was like a warm glow in her chest, filling a void she hadn’t even known was there. She couldn’t stop smiling at the thought of a whole forty-eight more hours with him. 

He raised an arm up to wrap around her shoulders, trying to memorize the way she felt in his embrace. She pulled away far too soon for his liking and he barely suppressed the small, sad chirrup in his chest at her absence. 

Their wrists pinged in unison and they looked down to see a message from Captain Kirrahe. 

“Report for wardrobe fitting? What does that mean?” Jane asked. 

Garrus shrugged, just as confused as she was. 

The rest of the message detailed times and locations for each of them to report for a fitting. Strangely, it listed them all in twos, putting Garrus and Jane together for a fitting at three pm that day. 

“That’s convenient for us.” Garrus lifted his brow plates, wondering if Kirrahe somehow knew they were staying together. 

“Wonder what we’re going to wear.” She frowned in concentration, trying to remember if the Captain had said anything about their next mission. 


	6. The Volenca Volare (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!! Sorry for the unintentional hiatus, I've just been stuck on this one part for a while. It was originally going to be one chapter but now I think it's going to be like 3 or 4 because I couldnt get enough of fake-married Shakarian! I'm just going to post the Volenca chapters as soon as they're done, then I'll go back to posting every Friday. Thanks for reading!! As always, let me know what you think!! :***

“Welcome one and all!” The elegant, middle-aged man stood at the center of the stage, black, tailored suit sparkling under the bright lights. His voice was amplified flawlessly by the dining room’s surround sound system, reverberating in their ears as if he were only a few feet away, no matter where the listener was in the room. He smiled with two rows of perfectly straight, white teeth. “My name is Harry Henley and this is my wife, Volenca Henley.” He gestured with one smooth movement to a dazzlingly gorgeous asari woman, dressed in a slinky, skin-tight gold dress. She sauntered forward into the light and wrapped an arm around Harry’s waist, smiling equally as brightly. He continued, “We’re both so happy to have you here on our premier cruise vessel, the Volenca Volare, named after the love of my life.” He turned dramatically to give a sweet peck on the cheek to his wife, who giggled and blushed for the audience. “We hope you enjoy the three-day retreat, all inclusive of course, with full access to our indoor beach, our lounge areas, our five-star, full-chirality dining room,” He gestured around the room, “Our holo room, our spa, and every other bell and whistle we’ve crafted into this beautiful vessel. You are our esteemed guests for the next few days, so we want you to make yourselves feel right at home. But before you ask,” He paused for effect. “No, you can’t steer the ship!” He laughed heartily and the room of echoed him, a chorus of haughty guffaws.

            Jane rolled her eyes internally but smiled along with everyone else. The delicate wine glasses clinked incessantly against expensive plates and fine silverware, intensifying the headache she already had. The lights were dimmed to a warm golden glow, the candles glinting from each table. She squirmed in her seat, too hungry and uncomfortable to enjoy her decadent surroundings. Her dress was too tight and crafted from a material that she suspected she was allergic to. It was the ugliest one she had tried on at the tailor with Garrus, but as she looked around the dining hall, she realized the formal, champagne-colored ensemble fit in flawlessly with the other terribly-dressed, wealthy guests. 

She straightened her back, trying to disguise her lower-class habits with over-corrected posture. She’d never been in a place this nice before and she couldn’t help but feel like she didn’t belong. Growing up on the streets isn’t something she could ever just leave behind. The trauma and survivor mentality had followed her into adulthood, lingering in her thoughts like a ghost haunting an abandoned house. And while she was at least aware that she still had issues, she had no idea where to even begin to resolve them. She took a sip of her wine, failing to suppress her wince at the bitter, earthy flavor. The bottle cost several thousand credits, but her unrefined tongue still couldn’t appreciate it. 

            “But of course, this trip isn’t just about having an amazing time, it’s also about helping a cause that is very dear to Volenca and me.” His tone turned serious. “As you are all aware, there is a terrible, terrible case of ignorance plaguing our galactic community.” He walked down the steps slowly, holding hands with his azure wife. “An ignorance,” He paused. “Of love.” 

            Jane took a sip of wine to conceal her amused smile. The other strangers at her table all stared, transfixed on Harold’s spectacle, lapping up his showmanship and bravado like fools at a used ship store. 

            “You know the cause most dear to our hearts will always be to fight for the acceptance of interspecies love, not just for Volenca and me, but for everyone in this great galaxy. Because we all have love in our hearts, no matter the body we inhabit, or the planet of our origin.” Harold waited for the crowd to finish clapping. “After all, love is everything.” He gestured to the audience. “Love is the air we breathe, love is the food that fills us up, love is the water from the fountain of life, that quenches every thirst.” He clenched his fist. “Love is the only thing that makes our lives worth living.” He feigned a dignified sob. “Love,” he paused, eyes glistening, “is what brought you all here today. To share our beautiful vision-“

            A tall figure emerged from the shadows and sat down in the chair to Jane’s right, bringing with them the scent of a musky cologne, reminding her of worn leather and towering trees. Her whole body relaxed, feeling safe once again.

“What took you so long? You missed the most coherent part of the speech.” Jane whispered in his ear, leaning in flirtatiously close, one hand resting comfortably on his forearm. She couldn’t help but notice the firm, defined muscles underneath his dark maroon casuals. She frowned at the softness of the fabric, wishing her dress had been made of the same material.

            Garrus’ heart leapt into his throat at the contact before he remembered their mission. He swallowed his excitement and slipped back into his undercover persona. Even if her affection was only pretend, he could still enjoy the façade while it lasted. He turned his head to purr into her ear in his most alluring dual-tones. “I ran into our friend in the restroom.” He folded a gloved hand over hers where it gently gripped his arm. 

            She shivered in response to his tone until her eyebrows shot up in understanding. “Zevander?” 

            “I’ll tell you about it later.” He winked.

            Another asari at their table flashed them a frown at their whispering. Jane pulled her arm away and settled back in her seat, itching the cuffs at her wrists. She wanted nothing more than to keep staring at him in the dim light, taking in his imposing form dressed in flattering, dark maroon casuals, all perfectly tailored. 

            “-and that’s why,” Harry continued, “on the last night of our trip, at our annual charity ball,” He paused and the room erupted into excited applause as he smiled. “We will be asking for donations to fund our new HumanityAid division within the Citadel chapter.” 

Volenca jumped in, her breathy voice fluttering from the stage. “We have plans for a new wing and have already begun partnering with other charities in the area to expand their work. The rise in anti-human violence in recent years is directly due to the influx of human refugees. We cannot blame those for reacting violently to a threat to their resources and their livelihood, just as we cannot blame those who came to the citadel for aid. We wish to do our part in accommodating new arrivals to ease the tension between the racial groups in the area.”

            Jane’s frowned in confusion. She’d been saying for years how the Alliance needed to provide support for human immigrants to prevent potential race wars in the more crowded wards. This was exactly what she had hoped the Alliance would set up, but instead it was these two seemingly disconnected, upper-class snobs who were trying to make a real change in the community. 

            Volenca continued, never dropping her signature celebrity smile. “Now, HumanityAid is not going to be a small undertaking. There are a lot of people down there who need help.” 

            Harry stepped in. “But we need _your_ help!” He smiled dazzlingly. “So, keep your chits ready for the ball!” He laughed with the rest of the room. “Well, that’s enough from us.” He opened his arms, gesturing to the kitchen staff, waiting alongside the kitchen. “Enjoy your meal, and your stay.” He winked and they walked off together, taking their seat at the table closest to the stage as the lights flooded back on, revealing the elegant dining room.

            The ship was decorated like castle back on earth, everything gilded in gold, carved into various shapes of beasts like dragons and lions. Jane was mystified. She’d never been to Europe on earth, nor had she been anywhere near a castle. The chandeliers hung above them, crystals twinkling in the soft, golden light. She was glad she’d spent extra time on her hair and makeup before she left because every time she caught sight of her reflection in a spoon or a candlestick, she thought she actually looked like she belonged in high society, like she could be a princess instead of a street-rat or a soldier. Not that she wanted to be a princess, danger and fighting were in her blood, but she’d never had a chance or a reason to explore the side of her that liked being beautiful and refined. It was fun and powerful in its own way.

            The staff brought out their first course promptly, setting it down in front of them with a practiced flourish. Jane’s stomach growled and she had to resist the urge to dig into her salad like a frenzied animal. Garrus’ plate had some sort of green gelatin, garnished with small, striped fruits she’d never seen before. 

            “Is that any good?” She asked after he’d delicately eaten a small portion with his second smallest fork. She noticed that he could wrap his tongue around each bite several times.

            He nodded with a hum. “Oh, definitely. I’d let you try some but, you know.” 

            “Yeah, chirality.” She frowned and took another too-large bite of her salad, already impatient for the next course to arrive.

He shrugged, keeping his eyes down to hide his expression. He was imagining her lips seductively plucking a bite of his jiggly, green appetizer off his fork. She’d smile and giggle before offering him a bite of whatever she was eating. He didn’t wish she was a turian, though that would have made his life a million times easier, but he did wish they were similar enough to share simple things like food, or mating rituals. He sighed to himself, trying to ignore her curvy, glittering form sitting inches away. His arm still tingled at her previous touch, the feeling growing more intense as he daydreamed. He hadn’t been able to see her during her tailoring session, so he had no idea what she would be wearing during the trip. If it was anything like what she was had on tonight, he was definitely going to have trouble concentrating on their targets. The hunger clawing at his stomach was replaced entirely by a queasy nervousness. He took another reluctant bite of his seema fruit sorbet, barely tasting it.

Three tables over sat a gorgeous turian-asari couple, chairs pulled close, both whispering to each other with seductive smiles. Her dark blue skin contrasted beautifully with her metallic dress and multitude of silver chains connecting her shoulders, neck, and wrists in a glittering waterfall. The turian was dressed simply in a black suit with crisp, white face markings over earthy, brown skin. They exuded charm and elegance, their natural beauty easily outshining everyone within a two-table radius. 

Garrus snapped up in recognition. “Jane, eleven o’clock.” He whispered to her, wiping all emotion off his face and averting his gaze.

She glanced over casually. “Ooh, good eye.” She twitched her mouth into a smile before returning to her salad.

“They’re a bit hard to miss, actually.” Garrus chuckled. 

            “Lucky for us.” She said, barely moving her lips.

            “I also see several empty wine glasses in front of them.” He added, mistakenly glancing over at Jane. He was seized with the desire to grab a strand of red hair that had fallen loose from her bun and tuck it back behind her ear.

            “Interesting.” She paused, fork clinking against her empty plate, one hand moving up to fix her hair, breaking his gaze.

            He glanced back over at the ostentatious couple as they stood up to leave, arms wrapped around each other’s waists as they waved goodbye to their tablemates.

            Garrus reached his arm around Jane’s waist and leaned in close to her ear. “Targets on the move.” He purred flirtatiously.

            She giggled and leaned into his touch, lifting a hand to cover her mouth as she smiled and whispered back, “Fuckers couldn’t they wait for the first course, could they?”

            Garrus stood up and offered his hand to Jane, which she took, intertwining their fingers, as soon as she got to her feet. His chest rumbled deeply at how perfectly her five tiny fingers fit between his three large ones. The nervous feeling grew in his chest at the small evidence of their compatibility, even if everything else indicated that they were too different. He hoped it felt comfortable for her, as well.

            “Don’t worry baby, I’ll order us some room service when we get back.” He smiled, thoroughly enjoying the assignment. 

            They wove through the tables, heading towards the room elevators along the peripheral of the room. Jane wrapped her other hand around his bicep, leaning into him dramatically as they walked. “Thanks, babe.” She hugged his arm tightly, smiling wide. His hand was warm and strong around hers, his odd finger arrangement strangely familiar and comforting.

            He squeezed her hand in reciprocation. The gesture was just for her, not part of their charade, not something that anyone else could even see. He wanted her to be able to read his mind and sense everything he couldn’t put into words. After a moment, she squeezed back, making Garrus’ heart soar. He didn’t even care if it meant nothing to her, he was going to treasure it anyway. 

            Jane bit her lip, fighting the strange feeling bubbling up in her chest. She focused on walking steadily in her ridiculous shoes, thankful she could rely on Garrus’ muscular arm for balance. 

            They reached the exit just after the other couple. The asari wavered back and forth, clutching her turian partner as they waited for their elevator. Jane matched the woman’s gait, leaning more heavily against Garrus and stumbling in her strappy heels. 

            “What should we do first tomorrow?” Jane asked too loudly, slurring her words.

            “Well, what do you want to do?” Garrus purred back.

            “Maybe the beach or – Oh my god!” Jane squealed. “I _love_ your dress.” 

            The asari glanced over at Jane and then back down at her own body. “Oh, thank you so much! It’s an original Sella Merione.” She smiled and twirled around, her many chains rustling as she moved. She nearly fell over as she stopped, needing her husband to hold her upright.

            “Oh, hello.” Garrus stepped forward, nodding to the other turian in greeting. “I believe we met before.”

            The turian opened his mandibles into a smile. “Yes! I remember! From the restroom.”

            “I’m Argan Helios, and this is my wife Vanessa Lakeway.” Garrus gestured to himself and to Jane, purring as he said the words “my wife.” He cursed at himself, glad that his emotional display at least suited their cover.

            “Nice to meet you again! I’m Zevander Prince.” He hiccupped slightly, retaining his stiff posture.

            “And I’m Rila K’Lari.” The asari stretched her hand out to Jane to shake as per human custom. She was drunk and clumsy, but the sentiment seemed genuine.

            Jane raised her eyebrows at Rila’s greeting. The person they were looking for was an anti-human activist, someone who hated humans enough to threaten to kill the host of a charity ball, not someone with cultural sensitivity. 

            “So, what are you two going to do tomorrow? Argan and I can’t decide.” Jane asked the asari.

            The elevator doors dinged open and all four of them stepped in drunkenly, two genuinely tripping over themselves, and two just pretending. They pressed the buttons for their respective floors; Rila and Zevander’s room was on a higher level, likely one of the most extravagant suites on board. Jane couldn’t even imagine how fancy their room would look. Everything on board was already so decadent, including the elevator in which they were standing. She glanced around at their beautiful, glittering images in the mirrored walls, surprised that she really did fit in with the models and celebrities aboard the magnificent vessel. Her chest swelled with confidence, bolstered by the steady, reassuring grip Garrus had around her waist.

“I don’t know, yet.” Rila looked at the ceiling, contemplating her answer. “Maybe the beach?” She looked at Zevander to sense his opinion and he nodded back enthusiastically. “It was a little creepy with so few people around last week, so I’m hoping it’ll be more fun now that everyone else has arrived.”

            “Oh, that’s right!” Jane exclaimed. “I totally forgot that some people arrived early, was it fun having the whole ship to yourself?” Jane sighed internally, thankful that some of their intel was confirmed. The bomb suspect was someone who had been on the ship the week before the ball during the “Elite” benefit vacation, an extended trip for the wealthiest donors.

            Rila shrugged. “Not really. I miss having people around.” She paused, eyes widening with an idea. “You should join us, tomorrow!”

            “Really?” Jane beamed. “That would be great! It’s our first time on this trip, and we’d love to make some new friends. What do you think, honey?” Jane looked up at Garrus in question.

            “Sure, that sounds fun. I haven’t been swimming in ages.” Garrus commented charmingly, mandibles out in a friendly smile. He enjoyed watching Jane work. Her entire tone and demeanor changed to match the bubbly supermodel, for a moment even convincing Garrus that she was drunk. 

While Jane spoke, Zevander vibrated in annoyance, humming at a pitch too low for either woman to hear. Garrus held back a growl, subduing the rage that boiled up inside him at the turian’s rude attitude towards Shepard. Zevander pulled at Rila’s waist impatiently, silently demanding her attention. 

            “Wonderful!” The asari grinned widely at them, her teeth all perfectly white and straight. “Want to meet there at noon?” She ignored her husband’s insistence without a second thought, clearly used to his behavior.

            “Perfect! I’m excited to see what everything looks like in the neo-sunlight.” Jane said.

            “It’s breathtaking. They really spared no expense.” Rila rolled her eyes. She added in a lower voice, “Which really undercuts their pleas for donations, but at least they’re doing something, I guess.” She shook her head, steadying herself against the wall. 

            Jane was completely taken aback by the asari’s blasé criticism of their host. She agreed with the woman fully, but was surprised at her position on the matter due to her upper-class background. 

            “Hey, they’re nice.” Zevander blurted out, speaking with a gentle, harmonic tenor.

            Rila turned back to him, mildly exasperated. “I’m not saying they aren’t nice, Zev. Just that they’re hypocrites.” She folded her arms across her chest, daring him to argue with her.

            “No, that’s true.” Zevander conceded, finally succeeding in pulling his wife closer to his side. He rubbed his forehead along hers lovingly. His annoyed humming changed to an aroused growl in seconds.

            Rila giggled and kissed him sweetly on his mandible, wrapping her arms around his neck, completely forgetting everyone else in the elevator.

            The elevator dinged loudly, announcing their floor. Vakarian and Shepard stumbled out of the doors and towards their room. As they were leaving, Garrus caught a glimpse of the happy couple in the mirrors. Zev had his hands cupped around Rila’s ass and his tongue down her throat, both pressed against each other as closely as possible. 

Garrus sighed sadly, dropping his arm from around Jane’s waist as soon as they were out of sight. Before he could get too far away, her hand darted out to grab his, interlocking their fingers, again. They walked down the elegant hallway toward their room, linked together. Garrus purred happily, letting Jane pull him gently along behind her. Her heels changed her gait and the shape of her ass in a very pleasing way, making her sashay back and forth with each step, hips undulating beneath the thin fabric of her dress. He stared, transfixed by her form.

The door unlocked for them, sensing the presence of their omni-tools and confirming their identification. She stepped inside and sighed, dropping Garrus’ hand. 

“I think that went well.” Jane beamed at him, reaching up to let her hair free from her bun. 

“Yeah, I think so, too.” He smiled back, wishing he was still holding her hand.

Both of their wrists pinged with a message from Kirrahe, confirming that the other couple had returned to their room. 

            She laughed. “Rila was so wasted.” 

            “So was he.” Garrus responded as he fell back onto the bed, loosening the suit around his collar.

            “Really?” Jane raised an eyebrow at him. “How can you tell? He seemed normal to me.” She moved into the bathroom.

            He laughed. “If any turian smiles like that then they’re drunk.” He remembered Zevander’s goofy grin, clearly drunk on wine and the love of his gorgeous, enigmatic wife. He had looked stupid, but happy, and Garrus was admittedly envious of that.

            Jane walked over and stood by the bed with her back facing him. “Could you?” She moved her hair out of the way and gestured to the zipper at the nape of her neck. 

            He jumped up, eager to help her, especially if it meant close contact.

            “You’ve smiled at me before.” She said softly as he dragged the zipper slowly down her back, along the curves of her spine.

            “Not like that.” He said, shrugging. The charged atmosphere was nearly suffocating, his fingertips tingling in proximity to her skin. He wanted more than anything to pull her into his arms and touch her, but it might as well have been impossible. He didn’t want to destroy whatever was growing between them, and he couldn’t bring himself to push it further. He reasoned that it was because the timing was wrong or that there was too much hinging on her reaction or on their mission, but he knew he was really just being a coward. He was afraid of his own feelings, of her rejection, and of losing their friendship altogether. 

            She stepped away as he finished with the zipper, ending the moment much too quickly for him. “Like what?” She turned around.

            “Like this,” Garrus opened his mandibles wide, exposing all his sharp, needle-point teeth. His deeply-ingrained turian training flashed warning signals in his brain, telling him to tone down his expression, to lock everything up inside. Part of him feared the level of control his upbringing had on him, but he was neither willing or ready to confront that, at the moment. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to hear Jane laugh, his favorite sound in the galaxy.

            Right on cue, she giggled brightly, crinkling at the eyes. “Kinda scary, actually. I like it.” She darted back into the bathroom to finish changing and to keep Garrus from seeing the blush in her cheeks. She felt the heat rush between her legs, excited by the idea of Garrus being dangerous and unable to keep images of him in his form-fitting suit from swirling in her mind.

            Garrus deflated, confused. He wasn’t sure whether to focus on the “scary” part or the fact that she said she liked it. The bathroom door slid closed, leaving him to stew in his own anxiety. He shrugged out of his suit quickly, paranoid that Jane would open the door while he was in his underwear. He slid into his soft navy joggers and a Palaven t-shirt with some band logo on the front. Garrus had heard some of their songs back home, but didn’t like their music as much as he liked the shirt. It had a cartoonish design of an old turian goddess playing a large stringed instrument, surrounded by Palaven’s moons. The shirt was part of their borrowed wardrobe for the mission and he doubted they would let him keep it, but figured he might as well ask when they were done. 

He caught sight of himself in the mirror and grumbled. As part of his disguise, Garrus had to cover his usual clan markings with a special kind of paste that smelled like plaster and changed hue to match his skin. To avoid the bareface stigma, new clan markings had to be applied every day with a fine-tipped brush and a small jar of dark red paint. The markings were waterproof but would smudge if left on too long. He grabbed a special make-up wipe from his bag and carefully rubbed away the false red lines. He shuddered at his own reflection, too plain, too empty, too devoid of identity or belonging. He tossed the pink wipe into the trash and flopped down on the bed, unable to look at himself any longer. 

            He heard Jane leave the bathroom, followed by a heavy weight settling on the other side of the bed. 

            “Do you still want to order room service?” Garrus asked, keeping his arm folded over his eyes.

            “Hmm,” She thought for a moment. “Yes, but just dessert.”

            He moved his arm, looking up at her with one brow plate raised in question. “You’re not going to spoil your dinner, are you, Shepard?”

            “I’m a grown-ass woman, I can eat what I want.” She stuck her tongue out at him as she selected a vid to watch on the massive, crystallized display television across from the bed.

            Garrus laughed, completely enamored by the sight of her in her oversized shirt and shorts, curled up amongst the pillows. “I’m not judging as long as I can get dessert, too.”

            She smiled. “Of course.”

            After choosing a random asari drama, Jane brought up the room service menu on her omni-tool, searching through the human dessert items and answering Garrus’ questions about not just human food, but also about her own preferences in regards to each type. She made her selection – a chocolate and strawberry cheesecake – and passed her wrist to Garrus, knowing that he could easily look it up on his own omni-tool, but too eager for another excuse for close contact. She enjoyed being close to him in public, but being in full view of others, she never felt the full intensity of their magnetism. Only when they were alone together could she feel the air vibrate between them, the gap begging to be closed.

            Garrus took her wrist gently, keeping his eyes firmly focused on the omni-tool readout and not letting his gaze wander down to her smooth, bronze legs. His hand tingled where it touched her skin, even through his glove. 

            Jane was fascinated by the turian desserts. They were colorful and artfully presented, most of them looking appetizing to her as well. She found herself asking questions about each type, which Garrus patiently and thoroughly answered. She could tell he was delighted by her interest because his chest started rumbling with what she’d come to recognize as his “pleased” sound. It was soothing, like a cat’s purr. He finally selected a small rectangular bar with yellow flakes throughout called “marupa.” He sent the order, fingers lingering on her arm for a moment longer. 

“I miss the blue.”

Garrus looked up at Jane, heart breaking at her sad expression, her bottom lip pouting exaggeratedly. He touched his face with one hand, catching sight of his reflection in the mirror along the far wall. “Me, too.”

“How long until you can see it again?” She tilted her head in question, eyes raking over his bare face. He looked different, though neither better or worse than with his clan markings. The lack of blue let her examine his shape more clearly. She loved the lines of his jaw and the way his short, flat nose scrunched up as he spoke.

“A whole week, unfortunately.” He sighed and turned away from his odd reflection. The paste felt heavy and uncomfortable on the first day it was applied, but now he barely noticed it, though he still cringed when he looked in the mirror.

“Aw, that’s not too bad.” She laid down next to him, settling down against his warm shoulder, spilling her red hair and intoxicating scent into Garrus’ face.

He breathed deeply, heart fluttering at her close contact. “No, it’s not too bad. Still feels strange to look at myself, though.”

A sharp knock made them both jump. Garrus got up, reluctantly leaving Jane’s proximity. Opening the door revealed a very pale human attendant, dressed in the elegant ship uniform and holding out a silver covered tray. 

“Your desserts.” The man bowed slightly, avoiding eye contact.

Garrus took the tray from his hands. “Thanks.” 

            The man smiled politely and bowed with his black-gloved hands at his side. He turned and walked away as Garrus closed the door and returned to Jane to set down the tray on the bed. Removing the lid, they found the two desserts, identical to the photos on the menu. 

            They ate as they watched the movie together, enjoying the delicious food and each other’s close company. Garrus stared as Jane’s eyes fell closed in bliss, her lips wrapping around a bite of cheesecake. She hummed softly, relishing the sweet chocolate and the tart strawberry sauce. It was the best cheesecake she had ever tasted and probably cost more than she would ever spend on a dessert. _Best assignment ever._ She thought, though the food was only one small part of the reason why. More than anything she loved being able to spend so much alone time with her best friend, and to have an excuse to be so affectionate. She hadn’t dated anyone in so long, she’d almost forgotten how sweet and intimate each small touch could feel. It was a desire she thought she’d all but abandoned. She wondered if it had more to do with _who_ she was being so affectionate with or if it was just loneliness that she’d forgotten.

            Garrus finished his dessert in seconds, politely closing his mouth around the fork before wrapping his long, blue tongue around the sweet, creamy marupa. He barely tasted it, entirely focused on the way Shepard’s lips parted and closed, the way her throat moved under her deep olive skin as she swallowed. On her last bite, a smudge of chocolate painted itself across her lower lip. On impulse, Garrus’ hand darted out to gently wipe the smudge from her face. He pulled his gloved finger to his own lips and tentatively licked at the chocolate. He found it to be pleasantly sweet, with an aftertaste similar to a spice on his home planet. He glanced back up at Jane, her open-mouthed expression pulling him from his trance. 

She stared at him, lips parted and eyebrows pulled together in confusion. Her brain didn’t want to process what just happened, but her heart was racing in her chest. It had happened so quickly that she almost felt like she imagined it. Her lip tingled lightly where he had touched her, a phantom feeling more tangible than her own recollection.

            Garrus panicked, embarrassment flooding through his body. He pulled away from her sharply, standing up to move their empty plates. He took hers from her hands, not allowing his eyes to meet hers. He set the plates on the tray and moved them to the table by the door. He kept his fists clenched with anxiety, desperately needing some space to lament his embarrassing emotional slip. He turned to the closet and grabbed an extra blanket and a pillow, heading for the small lounge area of the room.  

            “Oh, Garrus.” Jane rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to sleep on the couch. You barely fit.” She shook her head, annoyed with his overly-chivalric tendencies. The bed was enormous and it made no sense for them not to share it. 

            “But I do fit.” He argued, unable to look her in the eye without heat rushing back to his face. He tossed the pillow onto one end of the couch and plopped down, covering himself with the blanket. It was uncomfortable, but it was better than facing his problems. 

            “There’s plenty of room up here.” She patted the unoccupied spot next to her, looking small and fragile in the enormous bed. “We’re friends now, you don’t have to be so polite.” 

            He smiled despite himself. He knew he thought of her as a friend, but it was the first time she had ever mentioned reciprocating those feelings. The thrill of her admission was enough to overshadow his embarrassment briefly. “Maybe I’m sleeping over here because you snore.” 

            “I don’t snore!” She blurted out defensively, already forgetting the incident before, the memory fading like a dream.

            “Shepard, I have the bunk right next to yours on the ship. I would know if you snore.” He grinned. “And you absolutely do. Like a thresher maw.”

            “If I didn’t know you had a bad back, I would absolutely let you sleep on the couch for that comment.” She smiled warmly, sinking into the pile of pillows. “But I don’t want to listen to you complain all day tomorrow, so I’m going to insist that you share this enormous, cozy, comfortable bed with me.”

            Garrus winced. She was right, sleeping on the couch was going to make him sore and grumpy tomorrow, but he still wanted some space between them. He felt guilty for wanting her, like he was violating her boundaries under the guise of the mission. “You insist, do you?” 

            Jane sighed in frustration. “You are so difficult. Do you know that?” She rolled her eyes again, wondering if spending this much time with Garrus would wear out her eye muscles. “Besides, what if someone comes in and sees you on the couch? We’re supposed to be married!” She ignored her excitement at saying those words aloud, still blaming her school-girl desperation on her general loneliness.

            Garrus purred happily to himself at her last statement, further increasing his guilt. “I’ll tell them you’re upset with me for saying you snore like a thresher maw.” 

            She sat up to stare him right in the face with a fiery and slightly amused look in her eye. “Garrus Vakarian.”

            His body reacted _very_ strongly to hearing her say his name in that powerful voice. He felt his dick twitch inside his sheath. _That’s a new one._ He shuddered internally, forcing the new and alluring thoughts out of his mind.

            She continued. “If you don’t give me a real reason for sleeping on the couch, then you _will_ sleep in this bed. It’s for your own good.” She thought for a moment. “Okay, and mine, too. You’re really annoying when your back hurts. I can hear you grumbling in the comms.”

            He laughed beautifully, harmonizing with himself, impressed with her ability to lift his spirits so easily. “What if I don’t choose either option?”

            “Then I’ll be pissed.” She sighed. “Why won’t you tell me? Do I smell bad or something?” Her playful tone was undercut with real sadness, making Garrus wince.

            He smiled, shaking his head. “No, you smell nice.” He hated his understatement. _You smell so incredible that it’s intoxicating, just like everything else about you._

            He rubbed his hand over his face, searching for a convincing lie and finding none. The truth certainly wasn’t an option. Reluctantly, he stood up, grabbing the pillow, and walked around to the far side of the bed. Shepard beamed at him as he pulled back the covers, sliding in next to her between the cool sheets. The charged atmosphere returned, skin tingling in proximity to each other, pulling them together with cosmic force. Garrus settled into the unbelievably soft bed, purring pleasantly, but feeling more awake than ever. 

The magnetism only strengthened after he turned off the lights, cutting off the rest of the galaxy, all except for Jane. He closed his eyes, tossing and turning, head swimming with conflict, body aching with confident and passionate desire. 

Shepard lay still, slowly and methodically blocking the worrisome thoughts that creeped into her mind. All thoughts were of Garrus and all of them made her heart flutter in her chest. One question lingered, running circles through her consciousness. She made a bet with herself. _If he’s awake, I’ll ask. If he’s asleep, I’ll leave it alone._ She turned over towards Garrus, straining to see in the low light.

“Garrus?” She whispered.

“Mhm?” He answered softly, dual tones rumbling through the bed. He was surprised that she was still awake. He wondered if she was restless for the same reasons as him, but suppressed that idea as soon as it blossomed.

_ Dammit.  _ Jane thought, sighing to herself. “Why did you want to sleep on the couch?” 

He rolled over to face her, eyes adjusting to see her features. “I wanted to be polite.” He paused, looking for the words. “I’m old-fashioned, I guess.” He shrugged slightly. It was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth.

Jane nodded, satisfied with his answer, though a bit disappointed. “That’s stupid.” His low whisper had given her goosebumps and made her shiver. She couldn’t get enough of his smooth, resonant voice. She wished he would sing her to sleep again like he did while she was in the medbay. She yawned widely, feeling the exhaustion deep in her bones.

“Yeah, I know.” He smiled, remembering how strongly Jane responded to his voice. While she was injured, Garrus could soothe her in seconds with a low rumble. When she would have a nightmare, or began to twitch too violently in her sleep, Dr. Chakwas would request that he calm her down, rather than give her more medication. 

He held a deep note in his chest, barely loud enough to hear, but strong enough for the vibrations to reach Jane across the bed. She started snoring within minutes.

~ ~ ~

            Jane awoke to a pleasantly warm, heavy weight around her. She snuggled into the warmth, blinking her eyes blearily in the early morning light emanating from the gigantic solar imitators in the ceiling outside their room’s window. She glanced down and smiled involuntarily at the sight of Garrus’ strong arm wrapped around her waist. His body was curled up behind her, pressed along her back. He breathed deeply and rhythmically into her hair, still soundly asleep. Jane bit her lip, unwilling to extricate herself from his firm hold, but unsure if she was crossing any lines. They weren’t doing anything sexual or even necessarily romantic, so why did she feel so apprehensive? She had barely moved, and judging by Garrus’ slow breathing, he hadn’t stirred at all. She could just go back to sleep and pretend like she never knew. _Would Garrus mind?_ She wondered. His body language and contented humming indicated that he wouldn’t mind at all. She wished she knew the turian code of conduct for this situation.

            It was still early; the artificial light streaming in from the balcony was just beginning to turn blue and lavender to mimic a full-spectrum sunrise. Shepard checked her omni tool, moving her arm as little as possible so as to not disturb Garrus. Kirrahe confirmed on her readout that their targets were still in their room, likely not to wake for another couple of hours. It was rare to have any time to relax on a mission, and most missions didn’t have luxury beds and billion thread count sheets. Jane sighed happily, snuggling deeper into the covers and into her favorite turian’s arms, grinning wide. _Fuck it. I’m enjoying this._

            Garrus hummed deeply against her back, pulling their bodies together instinctively. He nuzzled gently at the nape of her neck, sending shivers down Jane’s spine, all the way to her toes. She wrapped her arm around his, interlacing their fingers again. The hum in his chest intensified, pulsating throughout her entire body. She fell back asleep just as quickly as she awoke, dreaming of dessert shops on strange planets that she’d never been to before.


	7. The Volenca Volare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> beach time!!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter crawled from the depths of tartarus. this chapter smashed my windows and slashed my tires. this chapter burned down my village and poisoned my crops. this chapter left my milk out overnight. this chapter beat me up in an alley behind a strip mall. this chapter held me hostage in a dirty basement. this chapter tied my shoelaces together and pushed me down a flight of stairs.
> 
>  
> 
> as always, enjoy!! im posting this unedited for now since it took so long!!!

~ ~ ~

            Garrus awoke gently, without opening his eyes at first. He felt a deep sense of happiness and belonging that he hadn’t felt in a long time. It was almost alien to him. He sighed deeply, curling in on himself – or rather, someone else. His eyes shot open as he realized he had Shepard fully wrapped in his arms. She breathed deeply, still sound asleep. Garrus’ earlier feeling of contentment was replaced by panic. _Oh spirits, what am I doing?_ He shifted slightly, trying to move his arm out from underneath her. He knew he had a habit of being clingy, especially in his sleep. It was another remnant of turian ancestry.

When they were nomadic, primal creatures, families would sleep together in groups. The parents would cling to their children at night to ensure they wouldn’t run off in the night. Garrus’ had been told before by a girlfriend that his grip was too strong and he hoped desperately that he didn’t wake Jane up. The impulse was usually only triggered by feelings of affection or attachment and Garrus didn’t like the implication. As soon as he moved, she stirred, shifting closer to him, a sleepy smile on her lips. He almost melted right there in the wake of her unconscious bliss. The idea that she could enjoy his closeness made his heart nearly leap from his chest.

Their wrists beeped in unison. Shepard groaned, rolling over as Garrus deftly slid his arm from under her. She pulled up the readout, squinting in the bright light streaming in from their window.

“Good morning.” She groaned as she sat up and stretched, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her hair was tangled and sticking up at odd angles where she’d slept on it. Despite this, she looked beautiful, more delicate than usual in her sleepy state.

“Good morning to you, too.” Garrus smiled, trying not to stare at her.

“Kirrahe says the targets just left for breakfast. You ready to hit the beach?” She grinned.

“Of course.” He purred back.

~ ~ ~

            The indoor beach was the centerpiece of the ship. It featured a full spectrum ceiling, set to simulate a full twenty-four-hour day, including sunrise and sunset. The beach surrounded a large body of water, at the center of which stood a large island, meticulously landscaped to look like a tropical jungle on earth, which hid a full-service bar and more than a dozen water features. There were already groups set up along the beach and people swimming lazily in the water. Jane marveled at everything. She’d never seen a tropical jungle on earth, much less one in the middle of a first-class spaceship. She could barely tear her eyes away.

            “This is amazing.” She sighed, spinning around as she walked to get a full view of it all.

            Garrus nodded. “This reminds me of where I grew up on Palaven.” The ship was no doubt magnificent, but it barely registered to him. Jane had emerged from the bathroom wearing a very short, white dress that stopped just above her thigh and Garrus was using nearly all of his willpower to keep his eyes from wandering. Though, as she walked in front of him along the sandy beach, he felt his resolve crumbling. Her long, muscular legs shifted her body back and forth with each step, changing the shape of her ass in an unbearably pleasant way.

            “It must be beautiful.”

            “It is.” He smiled, determined not to look at her. “You should see it some time.” _I’d love to take you._ He thought to himself. Another face caught his eye and he growled low in his chest as he realized he wasn’t the only one drawn to Shepard’s backside.

            Jane blushed at his statement, unable to stop herself from imagining them both on vacation somewhere on Palaven. They could actually go to a real beach and just relax, no case, no targets, just the two of them enjoying each other’s company. She was fairly sure that wasn’t what he was implying with his statement, but her own fantasy was too nice not to indulge in. It had been a long time since she’d even thought about doing anything outside of work, and she knew it was because, until now, she didn’t _want_ to do anything besides be damn good at her job. It was like she had been expending all her energy into her missions and training to fill a void that was no longer being satisfied. She sighed.

            “Is that her?” Garrus asked, pointing towards an asari woman lounging on a chair farther down the beach.

            The woman was wearing an intricately cut swimsuit and an outrageously wide-brimmed hat. She peered at Jane over her sunglasses for a moment before grinning widely in recognition.

            “Vanessa! Argan! Glad you could make it, darlings.” Rila stood up and kissed Jane on each cheek. “Here, I have some chairs saved just for you two.” She stepped aside and gestured to their lounge chairs on the far side of hers.

            As soon as Jane set down her bag in the seat, Zevander appeared, holding two beach towels, one of which he passed to Rila. “Oh! Hello.” He said in surprise, obviously confused as to who they were.

            Garrus stepped forward and nodded in greeting. “I’m Argan and this is my wife Vanessa.” He purred involuntarily around the word “wife.” “We met last night. Twice actually.”

            Zevander looked down sheepishly. “My apologies, I may have had a few too many at dinner.”

            Jane laughed. “Don’t worry about it, we got a little too crazy last night as well, didn’t we babe?”

            Garrus nearly swooned at her use of a pet name, forgetting for a moment that it was all a ruse. “Yeah, I practically had to carry you back to our room.”

            Zev turned to Rila. “Did you still want to go get those drinks, love?” He placed a gentle hand on her back in question.

            She kissed him chastely on the cheek. “In a bit. I’m not quite done relaxing yet.”

            “I could go for a drink.” Garrus offered, looking for a chance to speak to Zev alone. “Did you want to come, Vanessa?”

            Jane caught on to his plan immediately. “No, I think I’ll stay here with Rila for a bit.”

            The asari flashed her white teeth. “Perfect! We’ll catch up with you boys later.”

            Zevander tugged his shirt off with one arm. “It’s a bit of a swim to get there. You up for it, Argan?” He turned to the other turian.

            Garrus opened his mandibles in a smile. “Of course!”

When he pulled his t-shirt over his back, Jane saw Garrus’ smooth, plated chest, bare for the first time. She nearly gasped. He was beautiful and rigid with aerodynamic lines and skin like stone. His protective cowl came together at the center of his chest, farther down than she would have expected. It was elegant and sexy in a way that was all his own. His swim trunks hung loosely off his angular hips, stopping short at the middle of his thigh, revealing powerful, muscular legs. Shepard couldn’t keep her eyes from raking all over his body.

            Garrus tossed his shirt into Jane’s bag and turned towards the water before he could see her expression. Normally, he wouldn’t think twice about how he looked. He knew he was attractive by turian standards, but he was also aware that to most other species, he was far from beautiful. With their talons and sharp teeth, their appearance was mostly considered frightening, despite the measures to which they went to hide their predatory characteristics. He couldn’t even imagine how he looked to someone like Jane. Too aggressive, too alien, too terrifying. He knew she wasn’t the type of person to judge him for that, but repulsion wasn’t a conscious act. He splashed through the water toward the center island, relieved as soon as the water was deep enough to dive below the surface.

            “Ugh, I never get tired of that.” Rila grinned devilishly, staring as her husband waded out into the water. She looked over at Jane. “You know what I mean?”

            Shepard’s eyes shot open wide. “Oh.” She felt her heartbeat race as she realized what indeed Rila meant. “Oh, _I_ know.” She laughed and bit her lip, glancing over between Garrus and Rila.

            “And that turian stamina? Don’t even get me started.” Rila sighed and rolled her eyes back in bliss. “It’s like being married to a sex machine.” She laughed.

            Jane laughed nervously, heat rising in her cheeks. The conversation was taking a turn for the worse. She couldn’t stop thinking about Garrus – shirtless, breathing hard from exertion, moaning in beautiful dual-notes, the feel of his skin, the power in his lithe body. This was the first time she’d ever let her own emotions affect her performance on the mission and the reason why was more than alarming.

            Rila smiled and leaned forward, noticing Jane’s blush. “Oh, you don’t have to be so shy! I promise I won’t tell anyone. This is just between us girls.”

            Shepard steeled herself, grateful that her embarrassment suited her cover. “Sorry, I just don’t know many people with turian partners, so I don’t get to talk about it much.”

            Rila sighed. “It’s a shame, really. They don’t know what they’re missing.”

            “Definitely.” Jane agreed, determined to stay in control of herself. This was her part and dammit, she was going to play it. She flicked her hair over her shoulder. “I know too many humans who wouldn’t even go near a turian.” Jane scoffed, her brain reminding her of pleasant memories of beating the shit out of a group of racists back in the Academy. It had been the first time she’d used her biotics in a fight since beginning her training and she proved more than enough for five soldiers to handle.

            “Humans are hardly the only ones guilty of racism. Every race has some reason to hate some other race, even if it’s just for being different. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find even a single person truly free of prejudice.” Rila took a long sip of her drink.

            “Not even you?” Jane asked. Though she agreed with the asari wholeheartedly, Rila was still a suspect.

            She laughed. “Of course not! I still won’t speak to anyone who has a holo-tattoo. So trashy.”

            Jane laughed along with her, secretly thanking herself for not getting the cute holo-dragon on her thigh before she left Earth. She already knew she had some “trashy” tendencies, but at least her questionable taste wouldn’t interfere with the mission this time. “Do you know many people here?” Jane asked casually, leaning over the armrest of her chair.

            Rila chuckled. “Yes.”

            Shepard raised a brow in question. “Like who?”

            The asari turned to look at her over the top of her sunglasses. “Darling, I know _everyone_ here.” She frowned. “And that’s why I’m getting to know you. They’re all much too boring.” She sighed, turning back to the water. “Or shallow. Or too self-obsessed. Or too obsessed with money. Or power, or fame, or a nasty combination of all three. But you… there’s something peculiar about you. It’s intriguing.”

            Shepard was impressed by the asari’s perceptiveness. She was proving to be a remarkably intelligent and honest person, someone Jane might have been friends with under different circumstances. “Thank you, Rila. I’m glad my peculiarity is appealing to someone.” Jane smiled.

            “Oh, you know I meant no offense, Vanessa!” The asari laughed good-naturedly, flashing a genuine grin back at Shepard.

            They sat quietly for a moment. “Do you know the Henleys?” Jane asked, trying her best to sound nonchalant.

            Rila sighed. “Yes, for many years, now. Volenca is my sister.” She paused. “Well, half-sister.”

            Jane reeled. _Why wasn’t this in our debriefing?_ Her stomach dropped with the feeling of something being wrong.

            “Though I’ve been thinking about cutting her out since she married that fucking annoying piece of shit, Harold.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “She’s always been eccentric, but that guy just freaks me out.”

            “Why is that?”

            “Sometimes he doesn’t even seem real, just too robotic and strange. And the fact that he’s willing to indulge Volenca’s every whim, be it a new fashion or planet or charity. Though, I am almost proud of her this time. Her idea is at least solid, even if the execution will no doubt fall through in a few months.”

            Shepard listened patiently, mind furiously trying to connect the dots, trying to see if Rila was capable of murdering her sister and brother-in-law. There was no real malice in the asari’s voice, only petty annoyance.

             “At least I only have to wait a century, then she’ll have to go find someone else, who will no doubt annoy me even more. Though, Zev will be gone by then, too.” Her face fell into a frown.

A sharp pang of sympathy shot through Jane’s body. She couldn’t imagine the scale on which asari lived their lives. They regularly outlived their partners and friends, knowing that almost every non-asari they ever care about would grow old and die before their eyes.

            “Sorry, I know I can be depressing sometimes.” Rila shook her head.

            “Don’t worry about it, I’m happy to listen.” Jane offered, hoping for some more intel. She already had so much to think about, and she couldn’t wait to hear what Garrus thought.

             Suddenly, Rila jumped to her feet, tossing her hat onto the chair behind her like a large, floppy frisbee. She stepped into the artificial sunlight, tilting her face up to feel the simulated heat, abandoning her previously sad persona. “Almost feels like the real thing, don’t you think?”

            Jane copied her stance, squinting into the bright light of the ceiling. It certainly felt real to her as her face began tingle with warmth, body shivering in pleasure. She stretched out her toes in the sand, thinking that this was definitely the best mission she’d ever been on, even if things were beginning to get complicated.

            “Now, where are those boys?” Rila asked, hands on her hips. “Vanessa, I think we need to investigate.” She tore off her sunglasses and tossed them on top of her hat. “Ready for that swim?”

            Jane nodded, but turned back to her things on the chair.

            “Don’t worry, they always send it back to your room.” Rila shrugged, already ankle deep in the water.

            Jane furrowed her brow in worry. Her life on the streets had taught her to be immensely protective of what little she owned. Thieves were waiting around every corner, looking for the moment when she dropped her guard. Leaving her things unattended went against her every instinct. She shook her head, trying to shake off the feeling. _Not like any of it was really mine, anyway, right?_ She spun around quickly and jogged into the gentle waves, pushing the worry from her mind.

            As soon as it got deeper, Rila took a graceful dive, entering with hardly a splash. Her ocean-dwelling lineage was evident by how effortlessly she cut through the water, a small satisfied smile on her lips.

Jane swam after. She was a strong swimmer by human standards, but still seemed almost clumsy in comparison. The water was cool and refreshing, surface sparkling under the bright lights above. Shepard couldn’t help but smile as well. She hadn’t been able to stretch her muscles like this for a couple of days, having been stuck in briefings and dress fittings and a long, boring dinner. Her body felt like it was singing, arms pushing against the water, legs kicking hard behind her, all working in unison to launch her forward, faster and faster. She caught up to the asari quickly, almost considering challenging her to a race, but when Rila noticed Jane closing the gap, she turned and smirked before taking off at twice her original pace, which was apparently just her cruising speed.

            They reached the sandy island shore in minutes, both panting hard, though Jane admittedly moreso.

            “Wow, you’re fast.” Shepard huffed between breaths.

            “You humans are just slow!” Rila laughed joyously, shaking the water from her tentacled head. “Now c’mon, the bar should be just over here.” She grabbed Jane’s hand and pulled the human along behind her.

            Shepard blushed slightly at the contact and stumbled behind in the soft, warm sand. The smell of blossoming jungle trees, wet earth, and salt filled her senses. The leaves formed a canopy up above, bathing them in cool shadows. The sand turned to stone path, winding through the foliage. Jane shivered slightly, still wet from the swim. The feeling was magical, so real and so beautiful it filled her with giddiness, making her stomach flip over and over. If she ever got back to earth, she was going to the beach as soon as possible.

            The stones turned back into sand as the path opened back up to the beach, revealing a charming thatch-hut bar and a large, open seating area with tables topped with colorful umbrellas. Guests chatted, tables full of food and full glasses, while employees milled about offering towels and refills. Seated at the far side of the bar was Zevander and Garrus, deep in conversation. Jane reeled again at the sight of Garrus’ impressive frame, tall and muscular, casually seated on the edge of his stool, slightly more relaxed than usual. Rila spotted the turians as well and pulled Shepard in a beeline to them through the tables.

            Garrus nearly gasped when he saw a soaking-wet Jane standing before him in a navy-blue bikini, his favorite color. Her red hair stuck to her face, dripping water down, down onto- Garrus ended the thought there, firmly keeping his eyes up. He’d never seen so much of her at once and it was nearly overwhelming.

             “Keleatini, please.” Rila requested as she caught the eye of the salarian bartender. She turned to Jane.

            “Margarita?” Jane shrugged.

            The bartender winked a large, black eye and nodded.

            Garrus realized he had ended his sentence midway as he caught sight of his “wife” approaching. Zevander chuckled at his obvious infatuation.

            “You boys enjoying yourselves?” The asari asked, a smile on her lips.

            “Oh, we are now that you’re here, my dearest.” Zev wrapped an arm around her waist.

            Garrus did the same to Jane, delighting at the touch of her wet, warm skin against his arm and wishing desperately that he didn’t have to wear his damned gloves. “Hello, beautiful. How was the swim?” He purred.

            Jane grinned brightly. “It was great!” She reached up to place her hand on the edge of his cowl, a move she’d seen Rila do to Zevander before. His skin was warm and slightly rough, though smoother along his neck. Underneath, he had hard plates, interlocking to form a natural armor. She let her fingers search along his neck just a bit, hoping to satisfy her curiosity.

            Garrus shivered involuntarily, nerves lighting up at her touch. A rumble started deep in his chest and he tightened his grip on her waist.

            Jane flinched slightly at the sound, still unsure of their boundaries.

            “No, it feels nice.” Garrus murmured in her ear.

            Rila grabbed the drinks from the bartender and handed Jane her giant, lime-green margarita, topped with two tiny umbrellas and a mini-sword skewer of sliced fruit. The asari took a dainty sip and rolled her eyes back in pleasure.

            “Ooh, that’s good stuff.” Without hesitation, she took off again, heading farther into the jungle. “C’mon, let’s go somewhere more private.”

            Garrus and Jane followed, both trying to keep their eyes off the other. Garrus realized his self-consciousness had melted away at her earlier touch, a reminder that she was comfortable with him. She laced her fingers between his again, swinging their arms gently as they walked.

            “Learn anything?” Jane asked nonchalantly, at a low enough volume that the other couple couldn’t hear over the rush of the nearby hidden waterfalls and general chatter.

            Garrus clicked his mandibles to signal a negative, then remembered Jane wouldn’t understand the subtle clicks. “Not yet.” He shook his head at himself for his lapse. It was considered rude by some to use non-verbal speech with a member of a different species, as omni-tool translators can’t convey something so subtle. Garrus had worked in C-SEC for years, he knew the etiquette of inter-species relations.

            Shepard’s expression remained unchanged, a small smile on her lips, eyes fixed forward. “Me, neither. To be honest, she really doesn’t seem like who we’re looking for.”

            Garrus nodded. “Zev doesn’t either, but maybe they’re just good actors. Though, I’ve seen some of Zevander’s movies and I don’t think he could pull it off.”

            Jane chuckled. “Didn’t we watch one together? What was it called?”

            “ _Sunset’s Dead_ , I think.” He couldn’t help the smile on his face at the memories of them together on his couch in his tiny apartment. Zev had delivered one line so badly it had them both laughing for several straight minutes, face and sides hurting. Garrus chuckled at how red Jane’s face had been when she finally recovered her breath.

            “Yeah, no, he couldn’t pull it off.” She shook her head, grinning wide. “Maybe Kirrahe will find something on their omni-tools.” Shepard swooned slightly at the sound of Garrus’ laugh, beautifully harmonic and melodic without him even trying.

            “We’ll find out in,” Garrus checked the time on his wrist, “three hours, when the program finishes processing.”

            They stopped short at the sight of a man-made cave, filled with exotic plants, stretching upward towards the skylight, and several hot tubs, made to look like they were carved from the rock. Rila and Zev sat down in one, placing their drinks on the tiny table in the middle.

            “Wow.” Jane breathed.

            “Damn.” Garrus echoed.

            They both sat down opposite the other couple and mimicked their close posture. The water was warm and the jets stirred up the surface like a beautiful, swirling impressionist painting. Garrus shyly wrapped an arm around her waist, body tingling in response. They were both _so_ naked and _so_ close _,_ and the water was _so_ pleasantly warm _-_

            “So, how did you two meet?” Rila asked, cutting off Garrus’ train of thought.

            “Nothing too interesting, really.” Jane started. “I happened to ask him for directions on the Citadel and it turned out we were going to the same docking bay. I was leaving for a conference, and he was heading to Palaven to visit family.” Jane flushed involuntarily. They’d practiced the story beforehand and decided that a bit of truth would make it seem more realistic. Though, saying it out loud made her feel nervous again, like she was revealing too much.

            “We got to know each other on the ship.” Garrus added, feeling guilty over how much he enjoyed hearing her tell the story. It felt too real and not real enough. “And we’ve been together ever since.”

            “Oh, how sweet!” Rila gushed, hand over her chest. “It was destiny!”

            “Yes, it was.” Garrus sighed, letting his full adoration seep into his words. “What about you two?”

            The couple laughed. “Now, _that_ is a bit of a long stor-“ Zev was cut short by an incoming call on Rila’s omni-tool. It lit up, playing a human pop song from a few years ago, something Garrus remembered hearing in shops on the Citadel.

            “Sorry, sorry, I’ve got to take this.” She stood up, grabbing a towel from a pile next to the tub. “What’s wrong, Kel? I know you know I’m on vacation, and specifically asked not to be bothered unless someone died.” Her voice faded as she walked around a privacy wall.

            “Kel runs her companies when she’s out of town.” Zev explained.

            “Compan _ies_?” Jane asked incredulously.

            Zev hummed a laugh. “Oh, yeah, you didn’t know? She’s one of the most successful people on board this ship. That’s probably the only reason we keep getting invited. Rila’s donation is usually about half of what they raise every year.”

            Jane’s eyebrows shot up. _Holy shit. She must be loaded. And for all she trashes her sister’s ideas, she still supports her?_

            The asari popped back into view, face pinched up in annoyance. “My deepest apologies, but it seems that one of my executives has gone absolutely insane and caused a multitude of problems that are now my responsibility.” She nodded to Jane and Garrus. “I really do hate to cut this meeting short, but maybe you two can come to the mixer tonight? It’s in the Lion Lounge on the third floor. Tell them you’re with me and you shouldn’t have any trouble.”

            “Sounds perfect!” Shepard replied.

            Rila’s return smile was strained due to her new stress, but genuine nonetheless. “Glad to hear it.” She turned to Zevander. “Did you want to come with me or stay a bit longer, darling?”

            “If we’re meeting our friends later, I think I should get some rest before the mixer. I’m too old to stay up all night without a nap.” He nodded to Garrus and Jane in turn. “Argan, Vanessa.” He stood and shook the water from his body in a fluid motion, reaching out to take Rila’s hand as they turned and walked away, leaving Garrus and Jane together in the nicest hot tub money can buy in a romantic island cave.

            Their proximity and isolation set in, making them each hyper-aware of the other. Garrus pulled his arm from around her waist and quickly put several inches distance between them, immediately hating her absence. The water pooled around her chest, barely showing her breasts, which sat tantalizingly nestled in the cups of her bikini top that wrapped around her muscular waist twice. Her wet, red hair swirled around in the water, sticking to her dark, olive shoulders.

Jane felt anxious and excited, blush rising again in her cheeks. Garrus was so tall and strong, arms folded on the table, shoulders flexing like in the elevator when they first met. His arm on her waist had been so gentle and protective, more tender than she could’ve expected.

            “Did you learn anything?” Garrus blurted out, suddenly remembering that they were on an important, covert mission.

            “Oh!” Shepard lit up, eyes wide. She’d completely forgotten about her conversation with Rila. “Volenca is Rila’s sister! Well, half-sister.” Jane whispered in a hushed, yet urgent voice.

            Garrus sat up straight. “What? Are you serious?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Why wasn’t that in the briefing?”

            “That was my first thought! I have no idea!” Jane placed her hand on his arm, leaning in close instinctively.

            “And she doesn’t at all seem like she has a motive. Especially given what Zev said about her donations.”

            “The donations are anonymous. Maybe they didn’t know?” Garrus offered.

            Jane shook her head, biting her lip in thought. “It still doesn’t feel right.”

            “We’ll let Kirrahe know. We should check in with him anyway.” Garrus patted her hand with his in a reassuring gesture, lingering longer than he should have but not as long as he wanted. He typed in a quick message into his omni-tool. Kirrahe responded almost immediately. “Captain says they’re back in their rooms. Confirmed that the person she’s on call with is Kelvar Dalcen Mattorn Mattias, operations executive at SenSystems.”

            “Yikes, what a name.” Jane grimaced.

            “Agreed.” Garrus muttered, continuing to type. He composed a message carefully explaining what they’d discovered, sent it, and waited. And waited.

            “Well?” She prompted.

            Garrus shrugged. “He usually responds immediately.”

            “That’s not good, is it?” Shepard folded her arms across her chest, resting her elbows on the table.

            Garrus glanced up, getting an eyeful of tantalizing cleavage. His eyes shot up to her face, locking onto her gorgeous green eyes to prevent himself from hyperventilating. “Possibly-“ His omni-tool beeped, showing a simple, short message from the captain.

            Jane grabbed his wrist, too eager to read it herself. “Stay put and await further instruction in two hours, thirty-eight minutes? Do not follow targets?” She looked up at Garrus, confused. “What? Stay _here_?” She looked around at the walls of the hot tub.

            Garrus swallowed thickly, suddenly worried that Jane didn’t want to spend more time with him. “I think he wants to wait for the omni-tool information.”

            “So, we get all that time to ourselves?” Jane beamed.

            “Looks like it.” Garrus smiled back involuntarily, adoring the way Shepard’s cheeks squished up and the way her eyes crinkled. “Did you have something in mind?”

            “First, we pound these drinks.” She grabbed her margarita and downed a third of it in one long gulp, breaking away to grimace and clutch at her temples.

            Garrus leaned forward, grabbing her arm urgently, face twisted in concern, chest rumbling in agitation. “Jane! Are you alright?” His mind spun wildly out of control in the few moments he waited for her response. _Fuck. Shepard’s been poisoned. We were wrong! They are the targets and they know we’re onto them!_

“Ugh,” She moaned, shaking her head dismissively. “Sorry, just a brainfreeze.” She sat still, clenching her jaw in pain.

            “What?” Garrus was baffled. “So… you’re fine?” He didn’t understand at all. He’d seen her get hit by a bullet and show less discomfort than she was now.

            “Yeah, it happens sometimes when humans drink cold things too quickly.” She still had her eyes closed as she went for another sip of frozen margarita, wincing again. The cold of her drink was a nice contrast to the bubbling heat of the water, but it made the pain in her head more intense when she went for another sip.

            “That doesn’t make any sense! I see you drink cold stuff all the time!” He didn’t mean to be so intense, but the adrenaline from thinking Jane had been poisoned still course through his veins, though he was immensely relieved that she wasn’t about to drop dead in front of his eyes.

            “Well it’s gotta be really cold, like frozen.”

            “You have, like, _three_ buckets of ice cream in my freezer.”

            “Sometimes it’s worth it.” She went back to gulping down her drink, still grimacing.

            He shook his head in disbelief, smiling slightly at her persistence. He took a long sip of his own drink, a tall, electric blue concoction with several floating pieces of fruit throughout.

            “Oh!” Jane exclaimed, slamming her empty glass onto the table. “I forgot to ask: did you learn anything from Zev?”

            “No.” Garrus furrowed his brow, disappointed that he hadn’t been as successful in his own intelligence gathering. “Zevander didn’t want to talk about anything but the new art project he’s featured in, though he seemed like he barely knew what it was about. No offense to Rila, but he seems like an airhead.” He rolled his eyes at the memory. “Except that bit about Rila’s donation, that was helpful, though you were here for that one.”

            Jane giggled. “Rila called him a ‘sex machine.’”

            Garrus giggled in return, resonating in his chest. Jane felt chills down her spine at the sound. She desperately wanted to lean in close and listen with an ear pressed to his wide, strong, plated chest.

            He gulped down the last of his drink, even darting out with his tongue to scoop up a piece of fruit on the bottom. He thanked the spirits that he didn’t have to worry about getting a brain freeze.

            “What now?”

            “Water slide!” Jane stood and climbed out of the hot tub, her thick, muscular legs directly in Garrus’ view and covered in glistening droplets of water.

            “Really?” He cocked his head as he followed her.

            “I’ve been eyeing that beauty since we first got here.” She grabbed a towel and wrung out her hair, a tangled tapestry of dark reds, browns, and oranges.

            “Whatever you wish, darling.” Garrus replied casually, still enjoying the sound of it.

            They both stepped back out into the light, Garrus’ pupils dilating slightly faster than Jane’s. She stumbled in the sand, and he reached out to her instinctively, not letting go of her hand as they continued to walk.

            “Should you have had that whole margarita? Aren’t you kind of a lightweight?” Garrus teased.

            Shepard snorted a laugh. “Not at all.”

            “What? Don’t you remember when you first had to stay at my apartment?” He laughed, nudging her shoulder lightly with his.

            She laughed, eyes lighting up in remembrance. “No, that doesn’t count! That was asari sorcery, and shouldn’t be considered safe for human consumption!” She pointed at him to make her point, squeezing his hand at the same time.

            Garrus smiled wide, humming loudly in bliss at their closeness and easy quips. “Didn’t they warn you?”

            “The waitress might have said something…” Jane admitted coyly, shrugging for added effect.

            “And you were too stubborn to listen?” He laughed again, deeply, a sound he was making more and more lately.

            She winked and shot a finger gun at him, breaking their hands apart to skip off to the end of the line for the water slide.

            Garrus sighed and jogged after, a smile still on his face. The slide itself was much larger up close, nearly seven stories tall, and it wound around the island like a giant, white snake, jets of water hissing constantly. He found at the bottom, not a line, nor stairs, but a white, seamless glass elevator, with Jane standing inside.

            “Can you believe this?” She shook her head. “An elevator. On a water slide.”

            “It probably just took too long to get to the top.” He said, staring straight up at the platform above. He didn’t want to tell her that the only other water slide he’d been on also had an elevator, though it was also for wealthy people. His father had won a family vacation to a resort on one of Palaven’s moons. His father, being the kind of man who detested fun of any kind, opted instead to work, while Garrus, his sister, and his mother went. It was one of the best vacations he’d ever been on, almost entirely due to the absence of his father. He remembered that at the time, he had been overcome with fear at the top of the water slide, managing to force himself down once and then never again. His sister, Solana, however, had gone down over and over, excitedly running back to the end of the line. He missed her so much. He wanted desperately to tell her about Shepard, but he wasn’t supposed to contact anyone in his family until his assignment was over.

            They ascended in mere seconds, finding a short line at the top. The view was breathtaking. The entire island spread out beneath them, trees barely reaching even halfway up the structure. Shops and restaurants circled the outer rim, above them were windows to many, many ornate rooms, all gazing out toward the jungle oasis.

            “Together or separate?” The human attendant asked as they reached the front of the line, gesturing to the inflatable tubes to his left. He wore the usual blue pastels of the wait staff, as well as a bright red safety whistle on a lanyard around his neck.

            Garrus growled in his chest. “Together.” He glanced pointedly at his and Jane’s interlaced fingers, leaning forward to intimidate the smaller man. A human-turian couple wasn’t common, but it wasn’t _that_ uncommon. He was tired of such casual racism, especially in a place that was supposed to be celebrating diversity and interracial relationships.

            “O-kay.” The man stuttered, frantically grabbing the two-person tube and setting it in the slide entrance. “Ladies in front, and, uh, gentleman in back.”

            Shepard and Garrus climbed in, grabbing onto the handles on either side. The attendant paused to check the vid feed for the last group to go down. The monitor beeped.

            “Alright, clear.” The man gave them one solid push before they could react and suddenly they were in freefall.

            Garrus’ eye shot open as they fell, water blasting them forward. His arms came forward involuntarily to wrap around Jane’s waist, both to keep her from falling out of the tube, as she’d thrown her hands into the air, screaming, as well as to anchor himself to something more solid than a flimsy tube. The fear he’d experienced as a child was fading like a dream at the pealing laugher tearing from Jane’s throat. They landed heavily at the bottom of the first drop, bouncing into the air. Garrus savored the feeling of her body, flush against his, wrapped securely in his arms. He felt a laugh creep from his throat as they slingshot between curves. He let it grow, tossing his head back, wishing the moment could last forever.

            Jane beamed as she heard his laugh behind her. It was difficult to get the stubborn turian to open up, but her heart soared when he did. She wrapped her own arm around his, letting herself relax against his chest. It was remarkably comfortable considering they were flying down a giant tube at forty miles per hour.

            Before they knew it, they reached the bottom, the slide spitting them out into the surrounding lake. They tumbled into the water, finally breaking their hold on one another. They resurfaced and Garrus swam the tube back over to the attendant at the bottom, who looked immensely grateful that they didn’t just let it float away.

            Shepard let herself get carried away by the weak current, floating lazily on her back. Garrus swam after, dipping below the waves to cool off.

            “That was awesome.” She sighed. When the turian didn’t reply, she righted herself, looking around in every direction.

            Underneath the surface, Garrus stared up at her, chuckling to himself as she searched around for him. He kicked up as hard as he could, shooting towards the surface. He connected with her gently, grabbing her legs and pushing her up out of the water as hard as he could. She flew through the air, her scream turning into a laugh just before she hit the surface with a loud slap.

            “You bastard!” She yelled, grinning wide.

            Vakarian only smiled and dipped below the waves to avoid her splashing.

            “No, you don’t.” She said to herself before diving down after him.

            The cool, salty water was clear and deep. Garrus was already ten feet below the surface, waving to her as she chased after him. She was surprised to see that he was nearly as agile as Rila in the water. She never thought of turians as being water creatures, but she could see now that their streamlined bodies and plated skin would really reduce drag. She kicked hard, hating and loving the smug look in his eye as he lazily drifted farther away. Jane reached out, nearly close enough to grab him, when their wrists both vibrated, illuminating the water and bathing them in a halo of warm light.

            They stared at each other, both fascinated and awed by the beauty of the other. But, the moment ended when they started running out of air, each cursing their own biological need for oxygen.

            Jane broke the surface first, breathing fast as she checked the message. “Time’s up.”

            “Did you know there’s a water park on the citadel? It’s not very big, but we can go sometime if you want.” Garrus offered.

            Jane lit up. “Yes, I want to go!” She threw her arms around his neck, dragging him under for a moment, though he didn’t mind at all.

            “Anything for my dearest wife.” He added coyly.

**Author's Note:**

> pls leave kudos/comment if you enjoyed i live for validation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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